Two Princes of Slytherin
by Ky II
Summary: Snape was the first one on the scene after the Potters were murdered. He was the one who took the Boy Who Lived. Ten years later, Harry Potter is dead to the world. Instead, he is Hadrian No-Last-Name. First year, from the Fire Prince of Slytherin.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Severus Snape was sobbing. Clutching the cold, lifeless body of his one love to him, Severus cried, shedding the tears that he had suppressed for his entire life, releasing all of his pain and longing and regret. Lily was so innocent, so pure and shining, and now her body lay dead in Severus' arms. It wasn't fair. Dumbledore had all but guaranteed Lily's protection, but the Dark Lord had somehow ambushed the family in the depths of the night, killing them all. How could they? How could they let Lily die like this? Severus hated them for doing this to the one he loved most in the world. Severus hated the Dark Lord for killing her. He hated Dumbledore for failing to protect her. But most of all, Severus hated himself, for being unable to save her.

A soft sound behind Severus had him whirling around, wand out and ready, thinking that the Dark Lord was somehow still in the area, even though Severus already knew that the Dark Lord had been killed while attempting to destroy the Potters. But the only thing that the _lumos_ at the end of his wand revealed was a baby boy, cooing softly in his sleep amidst the debris and charred wood of the ruined house. The little boy was healthy and very much alive, as Severus could see, with raven dark hair curling wildly everywhere and a brilliantly red lightning bolt scar on his tiny forehead.

His eyes were closed, but Severus knew at once that it was the son of Lily and James Potter. The boy was practically a spitting image of the elder Potter, the one who had tormented Severus during his time at Hogwarts and had stolen Lily from him. Hate welled inside Severus, along with contempt and anger at the innocent little child before him. How very typical, Severus thought, that his precious Lily would have had to die, while the little spawn of Potter lived on.

Severus raised his wand, intending to kill the child of James Potter just out of spite for his father, when the little baby boy opened his eyes and looked straight at Severus. He gasped, and his wand fell from numb fingers, the _lumos _flickering out as the wand dropped to the ground. The boy's eyes were sparkling green, clear and almost luminescent in the sudden darkness, filled with innocence and a bit hazy from having just woken from slumber. They were beautiful eyes. They were Lily's eyes. They were the eyes that he had fallen in love with.

Severus couldn't kill the boy. The boy with the eyes he loved. No matter how much the boy resembled the man he hated with all his heart, as soon as the boy looked at him Severus' cold, icy heart melted to that warm touch of spring green. Heart aching at the woman he had loved and lost, Severus picked up his wand, reigniting the _lumos_. Severus knew that the Aurors and Dumbledore would be arriving in minutes, no doubt having felt the same strong Dark magic that Severus had. Severus knew that Dumbledore would take Harry, and make Harry into a boy who would one day do anything that Dumbledore asked. Knowing that what he was doing was beyond foolish, and was probably the stupidest thing that he had ever done, Severus walked over and picked up the boy, who was staring intently at him without making a sound.

As soon as Severus picked him up, the little boy smiled and clapped his chubby little hands, showing tiny white baby teeth. The little boy reached out and patted his hands all over Severus' face, making Severus huff in annoyance and slap his hands away. The boy looked downcast, his innocent eyes darkening with hurt. Seeing the pitiful expression, Severus scowled. "Don't look at me like that," Severus mumbled to the boy, though it was obvious he didn't understand a single word. "I'll have to get rid of that scar on your head. If I'm going to raise you, I can't have people suspecting that I've abducted the child who vanquished the Dark Lord."

With a few quick waves of his wand, Severus cast a powerful, near-permanent glamour on the boy, watching as the livid scar faded until all that was visible was smooth skin. Almost as an afterthought, Severus added several spells that were a permanent Notice-Me-Not charm on the boy, so that those who had known James Potter and might recognize the boy from his resemblance to the man would never be able to make the connection. Thus, nobody would ever have reason to even speculate that the boy had any relation to the dead Potters. After casting the spell, Severus made it so that the magic wouldn't work on himself, so that he would remember forever whose child the little boy really was, with midnight black hair and emerald eyes.

In order to ensure that the glamour would be undetectable even with the most thorough magical analysis, Severus cast some more charms that erased the magical signature from the spells, so that the spells would go unnoticed and that the glamour would be irreversible until the boy's seventeenth birthday. When Severus was finished, the boy in his arms looked like any other child, except for the astonishingly intelligent eyes, with completely unblemished skin.

The boy waited silently as Severus completed the intricate spells, staring at Severus all the while. The boy almost looked as if he understood the gravity of what was happening, Severus thought, but then dismissed the idea. It was impossible. The boy was hardly a year old; he couldn't even speak yet, much less understand what was happening. Shaking his head at his thoughts, Severus knew that taking the boy was going to put him at odds with both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, when he resurrected himself. Severus scoffed at the idea. He was already an outcast, he didn't fit in anywhere, and it was stupid to start caring about that now. He was already in no-man's-land, not accepted on either side of the war between the Dark and Light. And he would take the Boy-Who-Lived with him, so that when the boy grew up, he would be free to make his own decision.

But the world would not be permitted to know that the boy had lived, or even retain some hope that he had done so. Looking around, Severus saw a small pillow, almost the same size as the boy. Placing the boy to sit down next to the pillow, Severus waved his wand over them both, chanting the spell _corpus imitatum_. It was a Dark spell, but with all the residue Dark magic lingering around in the house, Severus thought that a little more Dark magic wouldn't do any harm or cause any undue notice. The pillow transformed into a body, an exact clone of the boy. The only difference was that the body was dead. The spell was classified as Dark because it was completely undetectable and allowed necromancers unlimited supplies of dead bodies, which they could create by just imitating themselves. However, in this case, it would be used to fake a death.

Severus picked up the dead copy of the boy and placed it in the mound of debris that Severus thought was once the cradle. Erasing his magical signature from the house, Severus picked up the real boy and looked him in the eye once again.

"So they named you Harry Potter," Severus said, "But Harry Potter is dead. To all the world, you will be nothing more than my godson, an orphan that I took in. Hadrian will be your name. Fitting isn't it, that you shall be named the dark one when you must be the brightest of us all. Hadrian you shall be, and you will know nothing of your past, nor your future." Severus' words rang with finality as he determined the future of the boy who vanquished the Dark Lord. Solemnity and understanding sparked in the boy's eyes, before he leaned into Severus' shoulder and fell asleep. With a sense of changing destinies, Severus covered the boy in his cloak and Disapparated into the night, leaving no trace behind.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is going to follow the storyline pretty closely, but from a different angle. Hope you guys like it. I know a bunch of stories have been published about this, but I just felt like writing it my way. Please review!


	2. Twins?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_Ten years later_

* * *

"Draco, Hadrian! We're leaving for Diagon Alley soon! Come down and have breakfast," Narcissa Malfoy called from the dining room, her voice magically amplified to carry up to the room that Draco and Hadrian shared.

"Coming Mother," Draco called back.

"Coming, Mrs. Malfoy," Hadrian called at the same time.

Abandoning their game of Exploding Snap, Hadrian and Draco raced down the stairs. On the way, Hadrian took out a potion he had brewed in secret, smashing the vial on Draco's head and causing sticky, smelly green goop to drip all over the boy's perfectly combed white blond hair. Momentarily stunned by the sudden explosion over his head, Draco tripped down the last five steps, landing in an undignified heap of goop at the bottom.

Snickering in delight at his handiwork, Hadrian waved to Draco's stunned face and leaped down the last few stairs, intending to sail over Draco's goop-covered form.

"Ugh. Hades! I'll get you for that!" Draco yelled, grabbing Hadrian's legs as he tried jumping over him, and causing Hadrian to fall right on top of Draco, getting the green goop smeared even more on the both of them.

"Hey! Draco, you git!" laughed Hadrian, playfully wrestling Draco across the hallway, leaving a trail of goop in their wake all over the expensive Persian carpet.

"Get some of this," Draco grinned, as he pushed a handful of goop directly into Hadrian's face.

"Bleh," Hadrian coughed, getting some of the goop in his mouth and spitting it back out. Tangling his hands into Draco's hair, Hadrian messed up the white blond strands until they were sticking out all over the place, knowing that the blond was extremely vain about his hair and tried to keep it perfect at all times. "Take that," Hadrian said with a satisfied huff.

Their fight progressing to mindless wrestling, Draco and Hadrian rolled all over the hallway floors, causing the smelly goop to be smeared all over the place; on the carpet, on the walls, even on the curtains. Laughing, Hadrian finally got the upper hand, pinning Draco to his back on the floor and sitting on his stomach. "Beat you there, Draco." Hadrian looked with satisfaction down at the boy pinned beneath him, before getting up and stretching out his hand. Taking it, Draco let Hadrian pull him up, grinning back at the smile on Hadrian's face.

"No fair, Hades. You always beat me at wrestling."

Hadrian laughed, trying to wipe the worst of the goop off of himself. "Well, Draco, _you _always beat me when we're brewing with Severus' potion sets during the lessons he gives us when he's not teaching, so we're even."

Draco ran his hands through his hair, grimacing as his fingers squished in the goop that had congealed there. "Aw, Hades, it's all over my _hair._"

Hadrian grinned, not particularly caring about the goop in his own hair, since his hair was always messy anyways. "Don't worry, Draco. It suits you."

Dodging a punch from Draco, Hadrian laughed and ran down the hall. The two boys raced each other to the dining room, from which emanated the smells of a delicious breakfast.

Charging into the dining room, the two boys were immediately stopped in their tracks by the glare that Narcissa leveled at them. Her voice icy cold, she asked, "What in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing?"

Draco and Hadrian looked at each other, sharing a moment of understanding between them. They both knew how scary Narcissa could be when she was angry, and neither of them wanted to be locked in the dungeons for the whole day, since they were going to go buy their school supplies to get ready for their first year at Hogwarts.

"We're sorry, Mother," Draco enunciated carefully, his voice in a properly contrite tone. "We were fooling around, and it is most definitely inappropriate to be doing such things on such an important day."

"I agree, Mrs. Malfoy," Hadrian added, perfectly in tune with Draco, "It was mainly my fault, as I was the one who provoked Draco into wrestling with me, and I was also the one who used the potion that created all of this goop. I now see the stupidity of my actions, as they were unwarranted and definitely out of line. You have our deepest apologies for creating such a disturbance in your household."

The two boys stood together with their heads down and eyes on the floor in front of Narcissa, trying not to grin. She looked at them both fondly. Though the same age and the same height, that was where their similarities ended. While Draco was more refined and cool, with hair so blond it was almost white and stormy grey eyes, Hadrian was raven-haired and lively, with piercing green eyes that could be cold and deadly or lit with fire. Narcissa looked at the two boys, both of whom she considered her own. They were like fire and ice, Narcissa decided, opposites that were constantly at war, but elements that could not exist without the other.

Narcissa thought back to the first time Severus had appeared at the gates of the Manor, nearly ten years ago, with Hadrian in his arms. Narcissa had always trusted Severus, and thought him a close friend, although she knew that Lucius had never particularly liked the man. Narcissa, thankfully, was the one who had met with Severus that first time, and not Lucius, who might have turned the man away. Narcissa remembered Severus' story, about Hadrian being the child of a distant deceased relative, and his godson that had been unexpectedly entrusted to him. Barely over a year old, Hadrian had already been far more alert than he should have been able to be, with eyes that seemed knowing and wise on the face of an infant. Severus was a single, middle-aged man, with no wife or close friends that he could, or would, ever need to turn to for help. It was obvious that Narcissa would be the one he would ask to help raise Hadrian, then, since Narcissa was one of the only people Severus knew that he would ever consider trusting.

Severus had been forced to go back to Hogwarts, where he was the Potions professor and the Head of Slytherin house. Having nowhere and no one to look after Hadrian while he was gone for ten months of the year, Severus had asked Narcissa to look after and raise Hadrian while he was away. After some deliberation, Narcissa had agreed, and Hadrian had been her son ever since, in everything but blood.

Hadrian spent eleven months of the year with the Malfoys, only staying with his godfather during July, when the previous year at Hogwarts was finished, and before Severus had to start preparing for the upcoming one in August. It had been decided that Hadrian would come to the Manor a few days earlier this year, however, since it was Hadrian and Draco's first years at Hogwarts, and the boys would want to do their school shopping together after they got their letters of acceptance.

The two letters had arrived just the day before, announcing them both accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Narcissa smiled at the two heads bowed before her, one white, one black. She had raised both of them as best she could, teaching them everything they would need to know about living the proper, respected life of purebloods. Lucius had been reluctant at first to accept Hadrian as part of their family, since there was an unspoken rivalry between himself and Severus, but as the years had went by Narcissa knew that Lucius secretly enjoyed having the energetic boy around to keep their son company, adding laughter and light to the Manor, which had sometimes grown dark and depressing before his arrival. Sighing loudly, Narcissa rolled her eyes, before smiling at the two hopeful faces of the boys. "All right. You two seem apologetic enough to convince the entire Wizengamot, though I doubt any of those fancy words you used had any shred of truth. Come on, eat quickly. I want to be finished with shopping and back before noon."

Waving her wand quickly, Narcissa cast a strong cleaning charm on the two boys, getting rid of the goop that clung to their clothes and hair. Smiling, Hadrian and Draco moved to their seats at the table, eagerly digging into the scrumptious meal of bacon, pancakes, eggs, and toast. Narcissa snapped her fingers, and a house elf popped up beside her.

"Yes? What might Mistress Narcissa be wanting?" the house elf asked, its squeaky voice soft and polite.

"Clean up the mess in the hallway please, Dobby," Narcissa instructed, before turning her attention back to her boys. "Draco, too much syrup on those pancakes and they'll cease to exist. Hadrian, napkins are for wiping your mouth, not your sleeves."

A chorus of "Yes Mother," and "Yes Mrs. Malfoy," met her ears, as the boys hastened to do as she instructed while continuing to eat. Narcissa shook her head at the both of them. Boys always ate everything as if it was the last meal they were ever going to get.

Lucius strode into the dining room as the boys were finishing up, his robes swirling impressively behind him. "Come along now, I want to finish all the shopping in the morning. I have important matters at the Ministry to attend to."

Making sure that both the boys had their cloaks on and were ready to go, Narcissa led the way to the fireplace. "Remember to say Diagon Alley loudly and clearly, or else you'll end up somewhere you don't want to go," Narcissa reminded the boys, handing them each a small pot of Floo powder.

"Yes, we understand," replied Draco and Hadrian in unison, already used to Narcissa's constant statements of the obvious. Taking a handful of Floo powder each, Draco went first into the fireplace, shouting "Diagon Alley," loudly and clearly as instructed by his mother. The green flames erupted around him, swallowing his body while he vanished beneath their light.

Hadrian went next. He had never particularly liked the method of Floo travel, but knew that there was no other way to get to Diagon Alley, besides Side-Along Apparition, which he disliked even more. Stepping into the fire, Hadrian threw down the Floo powder and squinted his eyes as the bright green fire swirled around him, watching as the scene of Narcissa and Lucius in the dining room vanished, to be replaced by a dark, musty smelling room, where Draco stood waiting.

Shooting a grin at Draco, Hadrian quickly got out of the fireplace to make room for Narcissa and Lucius when they came through the Floo connection. Hadrian high-fived Draco's offered hand, excitement sparkling in their eyes. It was finally the day when they would get their very own wands, and they would be able to practice any magic they wanted before they started Hogwarts, which was when they would be deemed as underage wizards and their wands monitored by the Ministry with the Trace. Hadrian had always thought it stupid of the Ministry to overlook that before they started school, children were allowed to practice magic without breaking the law, since the Trace was only activated after they started their schooling. Perhaps the Ministry thought that eleven year olds without any education in magic couldn't do much anyway. Hadrian was determined to prove them wrong.

Narcissa appeared in the fireplace with a blaze of green fire, followed shortly by Lucius. Smiling down at them, Narcissa opened the door that led out of the small room where they had arrived. They emerged into the parlor of the Leaky Cauldron, greeted by the buzz of general chatter and the clink of cutlery and glasses. The Floo network was the same for the location of both the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley, since none of the shop owners on Diagon Alley proper wanted to host the Floo.

Striding quickly through the rabble, Lucius led the way across the tables, exiting through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard. Draco waited patiently while Lucius tapped a brick with his wand, while Hadrian bounced excitedly in place. Without even waiting for the archway to fully form from the bricks, Hadrian raced through the widening hole, Draco chasing after him. "We'll meet you two at Madam Malkin's and then we'll go get your wands," Narcissa called after their disappearing backs.

The first stop was obviously Quality Quidditch Supplies. Hadrian and Draco gazed admiringly at the newest racing broom, the Nimbus 2000, exclaiming over the speed records and the perfectly polished handle. "Hey, Draco, you think Mr. Malfoy'll let us get two of these?" Hadrian asked, stroking the polished wood of the display broom.

"Dunno," Draco replied, staring at the gold embossed letters on the handle. "But I'll bet that if we got them, we'll be the only first years _ever _with brooms as cool as these."

"Imagine the looks on the other kids' faces," Hadrian snickered.

"Better yet, imagine the looks on the _older_ kids' faces. Most of their families will be too poor to even _dream_ of getting one of these. And then if we, two first years, show up with _two,_ can you imagine how they'll feel?" Draco laughed.

"C'mon, Drake. Don't show off," Hadrian reproached. "Severus always says that wealth doesn't matter, and you'll make the poorer kids and the Muggle-borns feel inferior."

"Easy for _you _to say. You have a vault all to yourself at Gringotts fairly stuffed with Galleons," Draco shot back. Hadrian thoughts turned towards his vault. Severus had given him the key on his tenth birthday, saying that the vault had belonged to his parents. Hadrian had asked about the previous owners of the vault to the goblins at Gringotts, in an attempt to find out more about his parents, but the goblins had insisted that it was confidential information. Hadrian didn't question more. Severus was his godfather and the Malfoys were his family, and it was enough.

"Well, _you _have a vault _brimming_ with Galleons, and it wouldn't be fair to flaunt it at the poorer kids," Hadrian insisted.

"Fine," Draco acquiesced, rolling his eyes. "You're too nice, Hadrian. We're both rich, and purebloods to boot. It doesn't matter how we act."

"It does," Hadrian countered, "We must treat everyone equally, as fellow wizards. Severus always says that."

Draco snorted. "What, Snape? His notion of 'equal' is probably sneer at everyone and judge them later."

Hadrian snickered. "Probably, but that doesn't mean that what he says isn't true."

Draco sighed loudly. "All right, all right. You win. I'll try to be nicer to poor kids. Happy? What am I going to do with you, Hadrian? You're a bad influence on me."

Grinning, Hadrian shrugged. "What can I say? I have that effect on people."

"Hey, how about we go to Fortescue's for some ice-cream? And then we can go to Madam Malkin's after that and meet Mother and Father," Draco suggested.

"Race you there," challenged Hadrian.

"On three. One-" Draco began.

"Three!" Hadrian shouted, taking off out of the store and shooting down the street, dodging around people and various magical creatures that wandered around, Draco hot on his heels.

* * *

After devouring their extra-large double scoop chocolate cones, Draco and Hadrian entered Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. They were greeted by Madam Malkin herself; a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.

"Hogwarts, dears?" she said, when Hadrian began to speak. "Got the lot here. First years, I presume?" Madam Malkin asked with raised eyebrows.

Hadrian nodded, while Draco looked around, fingering an emerald green cloak with ermine trimmings. "Hey Hadrian, how about this for our winter cloaks?"

"Drake, it says _black with silver fastenings._ What about that horrid cloak is black with silver fastenings?" Hadrian rolled his eyes, stepping up onto the footstool Madam Malkin guided him to and letting her slip a long robe over his head. "Come on, Drake. Stop touching that ugly thing and get on a footstool, or else we won't be able to go look at wands."

Draco walked over, sticking out his tongue at Hadrian. Hadrian stuck his tongue out as well, causing Draco to grin. "_I _thought it was a nice cloak," Draco drawled.

"Well, then I'll remember that when your birthday comes up." Hadrian sneered back. They both laughed. It was something of an inside joke between them, to act like spoiled rich pure-blood kids in front of everyone else and only show their real sides to each other.

An assistant pinned up Draco's cloak while Madam Malkin did Hadrian's, the two witches working efficiently and silently to shorten the black robes.

"Hey, Hades, after shopping wanna go out and fly for a bit at the Manor?" Draco asked.

"Sure, why not. Mr. Malfoy still has those Cleansweeps from when we were kids, right?"

"Yeah, though I think Father's gonna replace them soon with Nimbuses. The Cleansweeps are fine, but they're just not made for racing," Draco answered. "It'll be wicked if we can each get our own. I know first years aren't allowed, but maybe we can smuggle it in somehow."

"My godfather's a professor, remember? I'm sure Severus can help us with that." Hadrian thought for a moment. "But then we'd have to hide it from everyone else, since the other professors will freak if they knew."

Snickering at the image of the professors finding out two first years had smuggled brooms into the school, Draco said, "Well, the only way we'll _really _get our own brooms is if we get into the Quidditch team."

"Hey, we might. You're the best Keeper I know," Hadrian encouraged. "It'll be a crime if you're not picked to play."

Draco snorted. "If it's a crime that I'm not picked to be Keeper, it'll be a complete abomination if you're not Seeker. You have the best eyes ever."

"Hey, how about we both try out for our House? You never know, maybe the older student's all stink and we'll be on the team." Hadrian grinned. "It'll be awesome if we get on the team together. We'll be the first year invincible duo or something."

"Hey, speaking of that, which house d'you think you'll get into?" Draco asked, looking at Hadrian.

"Slytherin, of course. Severus was in it, and you're obviously a Slytherin as well. Besides, just between you and me, Slytherin's the only half decent house there is. Imagine being in Hufflepuff."

"I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" Draco laughed.

Hadrian chuckled. "Obviously."

"That's you done, my dear," Madam Malkin suddenly said, straightening up. Hadrian hopped down from the footstool and paid the witch, collecting his new uniforms in a large bag. Draco was done soon after, and they went out together, meeting Lucius and Narcissa right in front of the shop.

"Got your uniforms?" Narcissa inquired, eyeing both boys' bulging paper bags.

"Yes," Draco and Hadrian said.

"Here, I'll put them together with all your other things. Tell you what. As a special treat, Narcissa and I have decided to buy you both owls for your first year at Hogwarts," Lucius said, taking both bags from the boys and shrinking them, dropping the shrunken uniforms together with all the other purchases in his pocket. The two boys smiled at each other, slapping each other's hands at the unexpected gift. "Wands next, right?" Lucius affirmed.

"Yeah," Hadrian whooped, jumping with renewed energy. "Just think, we have a whole month to do any spells we want, and the Ministry won't even care until we get to Hogwarts."

"Most of the spells will still be too advanced for you, Hadrian," Narcissa said, trying to calm him down. "You still have a long way to go before you can perform any of the hexes you're probably thinking of trying."

Hadrian's face fell. "How did you know?" he asked.

Narcissa smiled. "I've raised you since before you could even speak," she said simply, "I know when you're planning on doing something that'll break the rules."

Huffing, Hadrian turned away, but his grin showed that he wasn't angry. "But it'll still be really great," Draco couldn't help adding, just to show that he was on Hadrian's side. "Hades is right. If we learn as much as we can in the month before school, we'll be the best in our grade."

Smiling at Draco to show that he appreciated the support, Hadrian said, "Besides, even if some spells are advanced, if we try really hard Drake and I'll be able to learn them anyways. Mr. Malfoy always said that Drake and I both had strong magic, right?"

Lucius laughed. "Yes, very strong, but uncontrolled. Listen to Narcissa, boys. She's right about how some spells are too advanced for you." Lucius secretly agreed with Hadrian, though. When Hadrian was angry he could control the very elements, and Draco's magic was fiery in its ferocity. Both boys had the strongest wild magic that Lucius had ever seen, and it would take quite a lot for them to feel challenged.

They arrived at the end of Diagon Alley, in front of a narrow and shabby shop with peeling gold letters over the door that read 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC.' A tinkling bell ran somewhere deep in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside, cool air swirling around them in contrast to the warm summer outside. "Hello?" Draco called out, his voice swallowed by the silence.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Hadrian turned to see an old man emerge from between two shelves, which were stacked with thousands of narrow boxes, all piled neatly right up to the ceiling. The old man had wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop, and he immediately looked past Draco and Hadrian to fix his gaze on Lucius, piercing him with an unwavering stare.

"Ah, Lucius Malfoy. Eighteen inches, elm, with dragon heartstring, I believe?" he said in a soft voice. Lucius nodded stiffly, hands clenching down on his walking stick that he always carried. "Yes," the old man nodded to himself, "You had requested special modifications to be made to your wand, I remember. And Narcissa," the old man turned to fix Narcissa with his pale gaze. "Fourteen inches, rosewood, and Veela hair. Very proud and noble wand."

Turning and looking at Draco and Hadrian as if seeing them for the first time, Ollivander raised his eyebrows. "And these must be your children, I presume? Well, I'm not quite so sure about this one, though," Ollivander mused, gazing at Hadrian.

"Yes, they're both our sons," Lucius affirmed in a cold voice. Hadrian looked up, startled, at Lucius, but he was staring at Ollivander. "Now, we have come here to buy wands, and I hope you will accommodate us instead of useless reminiscing about past sales," Lucius snapped.

"Very well," the old man sighed, shuffling over to Draco. A measuring tape appeared out of nowhere and started measuring Draco, while Ollivander asked, "Which is your wand arm?" Draco held out his right arm, and the measuring tape snapped out, getting various measurements. "Name?" Ollivander asked. Draco answered, and Ollivander disappeared between the shelves of wands before reappearing. "Try this. Ten and a quarter inches. Ivy. Dragon heartstring."

Draco took the wand, but it was snatched out of his hands before he had so much lifted it. "No, no, no," Ollivander muttered, disappearing again between the shelves. Draco looked at Hadrian with raised eyebrows, and Hadrian shrugged back. The old man was obviously mental, though he sold the best wands.

"I've got it," Ollivander proclaimed, reappearing from between a different set of shelves this time. "Ten inches, hawthorn, with a core of unicorn hair. I see that the dragon heartstring was a bit too tough for you, so unicorn hair will be perfect."

Draco took the wand into his hand and blue sparks immediately crackled out of the end of it, enveloping Draco in a web of pulsing blue radiance. "Yes," Ollivander nodded, satisfied. "Now, you," he said, his attention now focused on Hadrian. Hadrian stretched out his wand arm, just like Draco did, except Hadrian was left-handed while Draco was right-handed, and the measuring tape began measuring him as well. "Name?" Ollivander asked.

"Hadrian."

"Last name?" Ollivander pressed.

Hadrian looked back at Lucius, who nodded imperceptibly. "Hadrian Malfoy," he said, proud that his voice didn't tremble at all when voicing out the unfamiliar name.

Ollivander sighed. "Hadrian, I have been making wands for more time than you would care to learn. I know when someone is the child of someone else or not, from the way his or her magic feels. I can assure you that though your magic is strong, very strong indeed, your magic feels nothing like that of Mr. Malfoy here, or even like that of young Draco Malfoy. Now, be honest, and tell me your last name."

Hadrian swallowed, nervous. Looking back at Lucius again, Hadrian saw that Lucius was about to snap at the old man for his impudence. Hadrian sighed, wanting to avoid a demonstration of Lucius Malfoy's ample wrath. "My name is Hadrian, sir," he said again, loudly and clearly. "Just Hadrian. I do not have a last name."

Staring at Hadrian in silence for a long moment, Ollivander at last nodded, mumbling to himself. He went to the back of the shop again, and when he emerged he said, "That'll do," and the tape measure that had continued to measure Hadrian crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Hadrian. Try this one. Beech and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible."

Hadrian took it, but it was snatched out of his hand, just like Ollivander had done with Draco. Ollivander went to the back of the shop again, and Hadrian looked at Draco. Draco shrugged at him, and held out a thumb up to him. Hadrian grinned, though he was feeling distinctly uncomfortable from the admission that he had no last name. It wasn't something he liked to talk about, if at all. The fact that he was forced to talk about it made it even worse.

Ollivander reappeared, holding a stack of boxes. "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches." It was barely in Hadrian's hand when Ollivander snatched it back. "Ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches." It was rejected yet again. Ollivander gave Hadrian more and more wands, which were all rejected. The more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. "Tricky customer," Ollivander murmured, "Then how about something strange, for a strange boy with no last name?"

Ollivander went to the very back of the shop this time, hobbling up a ladder to reach for a box hidden behind two tall stacks. Coming back, Ollivander presented the wand almost reverently to Hadrian. "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple," Ollivander whispered as he handed the wand to Hadrian.

Hadrian took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers, and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end of the wand like fireworks, throwing dancing spots of light on the walls. Draco whooped and clapped, and Narcissa and Lucius smiled. Ollivander, on the other hand, looked nervous. Taking the wand quickly from Hadrian, Ollivander wrapped it up and gave the box to Hadrian. "How strange," he murmured over and over again.

Hadrian had to ask. "Sorry, sir, but what's strange?"

Ollivander fixed him with a piercing gaze, his milky eyes looking haunted. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, boy. The wand chooses the wizard, after all. It just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather. Just one other, making the two wands that the feathers were in something akin to brothers. It is strange, young man, that you should be destined for this wand, while its brother was destined for," Ollivander paused before leaning in closer to Hadrian, although it was obvious the old man didn't want to be so close to the boy, "You-Know-Who." Ollivander whispered the name, looking around fearfully as if its owner could be hiding in the shadows of his store. Lucius visibly paled, his already white skin becoming sickly.

"That's enough out of you, you blabbering fool. You'll not go around poisoning my son's mind about becoming the next Dark Lord." Lucius was furious; it was easy to see from the way his movements were marked by dangerous grace, his grey eyes sparking with anger. "Come along, Hadrian, Draco. It's time we left this rundown old shop."

Paying Ollivander for the wands, Hadrian and Draco quickly followed Narcissa and Lucius out of the store. "To think, that he would imply that Hadrian would become like _him, _that our Hadrian would become some evil, crazy, twisted _monstrosity-" _Lucius was muttering while Narcissa shushed him.

"Lucius," Narcissa said softly, stroking his face, "Hadrian and Draco are both our sons. No matter what, we will love them and let them grow strong. We will put our faith in them and trust them to do what's right. We will believe in them, and disregard any old fool's mutterings to the contrary. Right Hadrian? Draco?"

"Of course, Mother," Draco nodded. "Ollivander was mental. Anyone could see that."

"I agree, Mrs. Malfoy. Besides, Voldemort was nothing but an old guy who got killed by a baby. Harry Potter saved us all from him, so we don't have to worry about him anymore. And what I do with my wand is up to me. It doesn't mean that my wand will suddenly decide my fate or anything," Hadrian added.

Narcissa and Lucius both flinched when Hadrian called Voldemort by his real name, but they seemed somewhat reassured from his confidence. "Good. We might as well forget the words of an old wizard who's spent too long with his wands to know about the real world. Now, we were going to get owls, right?" Narcissa asked, smiling weakly.

Draco grinned. "Of course. You wouldn't be forgetting your promise, right Mother?"

Narcissa smiled. "Of course not, love."

Draco and Hadrian raced to Eyelops Owl Emporium, the scene at Ollivanders' already fading from memory. Narcissa and Lucius walked behind at a slower pace, and if the boys had looked back, they would have seen Lucius gripping the walking stick that concealed his wand tighter than normal, and Narcissa's hand on Lucius' arm would be white with the force of her grip. The two boys didn't look back, however, as they raced ahead while their parents were left behind.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hope you like it so far. In case anyone was wondering, Harry/Hadrian does NOT wear glasses in this fic. I've always assumed that Harry got his bad eyesight from living in a cupboard while growing up, so now that he's been raised as a pureblood, he doesn't need any glasses and has perfect vision. Also, Draco Malfoy will not be as snobby in this fic as in the book, as he has been influenced greatly by Harry/Hadrian. If you have any questions, ask! Oh, right, and please review as well!


	3. Weasley in Pink

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

The train whistle sounded on platform 9¾, signaling that all students were to get on board. Hadrian and Draco stood together in front of their cabin door, their trunks and owls already on the train and saying their final farewells to Lucius and Narcissa.

"Make sure you haven't forgotten anything, and do your best, you two." Narcissa smiled at the two boys, both excitedly standing before her, eager for their first year at Hogwarts. She nodded at Draco's neat hair and crisp robes, which he had already changed into, and turned to look at Hadrian. His raven dark hair was tousled as always, sticking out in every direction from his face and framing his brilliant green eyes. Narcissa frowned at the boy's crumpled robes, which looked as if they'd been dragged about on the ground of the platform and was covered with dirt and smudges.

"Hadrian, what happened to your robes? They were perfect this morning, how did they get so messy?" Narcissa asked him, trying vainly to pat down his flyaway hair with her hands.

"Well, Mrs. Malfoy, there was this incident with Blaise a little while ago when you and Mr. Malfoy were busy talking with Mr. and Mrs. Zabini. Of course, it was all resolved quickly, so it's all fine."

Narcissa looked at Hadrian suspiciously, while Hadrian grinned innocently up at her, his green eyes sparkling with mischief. The Malfoys had always been close friends with the Zabinis, both sharing many of the same worldviews and both having an immaculate pureblood history. Draco and Hadrian had often visited the Zabinis when they were growing up, becoming friends with the Zabini boy, Blaise. Raising an eyebrow, Narcissa asked, " Do you want to tell me about this little incident of yours?"

"Well, there's actually not much to tell. But I dealt far more damage to him than he did to me, so rest assured."

Draco snickered at that. "Yeah right, Hadrian. He barely _touched_ you while you almost broke his nose. He's gonna have a black eye for _weeks, _unless he gets it fixed when we get to school."

Narcissa turned to level her scrutinizing look on Draco. "And what did _you_ have to do with this little _incident, _hmm?"

Draco slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized his mistake, and Hadrian laughed out loud. Narcissa sighed and smiled at the two boys. "Just make sure that you don't have any more little incidents when you get to Hogwarts, alright? I don't want to find owls saying what naughty kids you've been at my window."

"Yes, Mother," Draco mumbled, though there was a glint of calculating eagerness in his eyes, which Narcissa knew was the look Draco got whenever he was up to something not quite within the boundary of the rules. Hadrian, on the other hand, just grinned with complete mischievous glee, not even bothering to hide his excitement.

Choosing to ignore the looks, and pretending that she never saw them, Narcissa kissed both boys on the forehead. "Have a nice year, dears, and remember to owl us at least once a week. We didn't get you those owls for nothing."

Lucius stepped up to the two boys as Narcissa withdrew. "Listen up, Draco, Hadrian," he whispered, leaning down to speak in both their ears. "I know Narcissa told you two to not cause any trouble, but that's not the Slytherin way, now is it. Now _I'm _telling you, get up to whatever troubles you want, just make sure to never be caught. You two are both Malfoys, even you, Hadrian," Lucius said in response to Hadrian's surprised look, "And Malfoys _never _get caught. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Father," Draco nodded enthusiastically, shooting a grin at Hadrian. Hadrian grinned back, and then looked up at Lucius, happiness evident in his eyes for being officially accepted as a part of their family.

"Yes, Father," Hadrian said tentatively.

Seeing one of Lucius' infrequent smiles break out over his face, Hadrian's grin turned into a full-blown beam. "You can trust us, Father. We'll be the sneakiest snakes Hogwarts will ever have seen. Draco and I together are invincible. When we're through, Hogwarts won't even know what hit them."

Lucius grinned at Hadrian's obvious disregard for the rules. Draco was always the one who thought things through, who planned and calculated. Hadrian was the one with the do-or-die mentality. They contrasted each other, and yet they were in harmony. Lucius shuddered to think what a frightful combination the two boys could make in the future, when their magic had fully developed.

"Alright, now, boys. You'd best get on the train before it leaves without you," Lucius said, nodding briskly at them. Lucius wasn't one for sentimentality, and his little allowance for the boys to do whatever they want at Hogwarts was as far as he was going to go.

Draco and Hadrian smiled and nodded at their parents, climbing onto the train seconds before the whistle sounded again and the train began to move. Pressing their faces to the glass, the two boys waved through the open window until the station was out of sight, Narcissa and Lucius two dark figures that faded into the distance.

* * *

After Narcissa and Lucius were finally out of sight, Draco and Hadrian grinned at each other.

"Freedom at last, eh Hades?"

"Of course, Drake. Nobody'll be able to stop us, what with all the extra magic studying we've been doing for the past month. Even the older kids'll have to watch out." Hadrian slipped his wand out of his sleeve and twirled it in his fingers. "Say, how about we start this school year with a bang?"

"My thoughts exactly." Draco took out his own wand and looked down at the row of train compartments. "Who d'you think we should target first?"

Hadrian grinned wickedly, eyes glittering with excitement. "Weasleys."

* * *

Ron Weasley sat alone in his compartment, staring glumly out the window. The snack cart had just passed, and he had been forced to decline the old witch's question of "Anything sweet for you, dear?" by holding up an old sandwich that his mum had given him for lunch. Ron sighed. He wished that he could've at least had somebody to talk to, or sit with in the same compartment. Percy was in the compartment at the front, with all the other _prefects. _Fred and George were somewhere off doing something, and Ron was left alone, the baby boy of the family yet again.

Suddenly his compartment door crashed open, and Ron turned, hoping Fred and George had brought him something interesting. Instead he was faced with two wands in his face, the owners grinning at him over their points. Ron blinked in surprise. The two boys were almost twins, exactly alike, except complete opposites. One was pale enough to appear ghostly, had hair so blond that it was almost white, with colorless grey eyes that seemed to hold no emotion and immaculate robes, which were obviously new. Ron was somehow incredibly reminded of ice. The other boy, however, was definitely fire. With messy ebony hair and brilliant green eyes blazing with excitement, the boy's crumpled robes and light skin held all the color that the other boy lacked.

But other than the differences in their appearance, Ron could almost have laughed at how similar they were, if he wasn't already nervous from the twin wands pointed in his face. They both wore the same expressions of deviousness, indicating they were definitely up to something bad. Though the dark haired boy was left-handed while the other pale one was right-handed, they could almost have been mirror reflections of each other from the way they stood in the exact same positions.

His eyes going back to the wands pointed less than an inch from his nose, Ron gulped. "Uh, h-hi," Ron managed to stutter out.

"Hey there," the pale boy said.

"What's up?" the dark one asked.

"Uh, nothing much, really. Um, why the bloody hell am I getting pointed with your wands?" Ron was never one for subtly hinting words, and the words just somehow tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

The dark one laughed, and it was a nice sound, Ron decided, though the boy's wand arm remained incredibly steady. The blond one sneered, and Ron immediately decided that he liked the dark haired boy better than the pale one.

"Why do you think, _Weasley_?" the pale boy asked.

"Huh? How do you know-" Ron started.

"How do we know you're a Weasley? Well, that should be obvious, shouldn't it? Red hair, freckles, and hand-me down robes? Which other blood-traitor family would stand to look like _that?_" The pale boy snickered, while the dark one frowned.

"Hey, Drake," the dark haired boy said in a warning voice.

"Oh I know, I know," the pale one – Drake – said in response, sticking his tongue out. "You're too nice, Hades. He's a _Weasley."_

"Hey," Ron yelled, angry that he was being completely ignored. "What's going on here?"

The dark haired one looked back at Ron. Suddenly, he grinned. "Get ready, Weasley."

"Huh?" Ron blubbered out, completely confused.

"One," the pale boy said.

"Two," the dark haired one replied, winking at Ron.

"Three," the two boys said together. Immediately, explosions flew out of both their wands, enveloping Ron in a thick pink fog. Ron jumped back at the sudden attack, but the explosions were everywhere, creating yellow and blue sparks that danced around the compartment. The pink fog covered everything, and Ron couldn't see, the fog was all around him. Suddenly, it was gone as soon as it appeared, the entire compartment going back to normal.

"Wha-" Ron blinked, shadows of the sparks still dancing across his vision. "What was that all about?" Ron asked the two boys.

They were both doubled over with laughter. Ron stared at them in confusion, before looking down at himself to see what was funny. His eyes almost popping out of their sockets, Ron saw that his school robes, which were Bill's old ones, were bright pink in color. Looking at his hands, Ron saw that even his skin was bright pink, that everything about him had turned a garish hot pink color.

Yelling in surprise, Ron scrambled around for a mirror. The dark haired boy finally regained a semblance of control and conjured up a mirror with a wave of his wand. Ron hardly noticed the impressive demonstration of magic, instead grabbing the mirror the boy handed to him and looking at his reflection in horror. His face was pink, his hair was pink, even his _teeth_ were pink. His blue eyes were the only color other than pink on him, and they were shining with horror at his appearance.

"What did you _do?" _Ron yelled at the two boys.

By this time, the pale haired one had stopped giggling as well, though his face still gleamed with amusement. "The color looks nice on you, Weasley. You have to admit, it's better than that awful red of your hair."

Ron just stared, aghast, at the pale boy. By this time, the explosions and Ron's not-very-quiet yells had attracted quite a bit of attention from the students in the other compartments. A crowd was forming around the doorway to Ron's compartment, the people who glimpsed him laughing in shock and giggling it to their friends. In a matter of minutes, the whole train knew of the pink boy who got hexed in compartment 23.

Ron wanted to hide, though he had already been seen by almost everybody. Glaring at the two boys who had done it to him, Ron growled, "Who the bloody hell _are_ you two?_"_

The pale boy just sneered at him, and Ron's initial dislike turned to hate. The pale boy was way too arrogant for his own good.

It was the dark haired one who answered with a grin. "My name's Hadrian. This here's Draco Malfoy. We're both first years. Nice ta meet ya."

The dark haired boy held out a hand, continuing to grin. Ron was stunned by the sudden change in attitude, and he hesitantly took the boy's hand, saying, "I'm Ron. Ron Weasley. I'm a first year as well."

At that moment Fred and George barreled into the compartment. "Hey, kids," Fred began angrily.

"We don't like what you've done with our baby brother," George finished for him.

Ron could only stare in shock as Fred and George confronted Hadrian and Draco. Fred and George were starting as third years this year, and they towered over the shorter Hadrian and Draco.

Draco turned around and sneered at Fred and George. "Well, I don't see what you can do about it now, Weasleys."

"Besides, you gotta admit, your little brother here looks mighty fine with his new skin." Hadrian laughed, his eyes twinkling with merriment, though empty of wicked intent.

"We ought to punish you two brats," George said.

"And teach you to never mess with our kid brother again," finished Fred.

Draco rolled his eyes, before getting his wand out and ready again. "Let's just see you try," Draco began.

"Since we'll beat your faces in first," finished Hadrian, taking out his wand as well and going to stand beside Draco, the two boys becoming perfect image reflections of each other once more.

Fred and George scowled in anger and drew their wands. Before they could react, though, Hadrian and Draco chanted at the same time, "_Levicorpus!"_

It was a spell that Severus had taught Harry during the summer before he had left for Hogwarts, and Harry had told the spell to Draco. The effects were immediate. Fred and George's feet were swept out from under them as the two spells hit at the exact same time, so Fred and George were left hanging by their feet in the air in Ron's compartment, struggling and flopping around. Ron's jaw dropped open. Hadrian and Draco, two _first years, _had just pranked his brothers, the _Weasley twins._ It was a momentous occurrence.

Draco and Hadrian high-fived each other, to the loud cheers and claps of the crowd that had formed outside the compartment. Ron found himself grinning, despite still being bright pink. "That was bloody _wicked_," Ron breathed.

"Glad you think so, Ron," Hadrian smiled. Ron smiled back at the joy in Hadrian's green eyes, recognizing the elated look of someone who had just successfully pulled off a prank. His brothers had often looked the same way. Draco glared disdainfully at Ron for a second, before his face split in a grin.

"You still look pretty ridiculous in that color, Weasley, but I'm glad you admire our brilliance," Draco said coolly, though his eyes sparkled with the same triumph as Hadrian's.

Ron huffed. He knew he would never actually _like _Draco, but with Hadrian's bright energy there as well, Draco's presence was somewhat tolerable.

After watching Fred and George struggle for a bit more, Draco walked up to their upside down faces, bending down so that his eyes were level with theirs. "Do you admit defeat?" Draco asked haughtily.

"Never!" Fred and George yelled at the same time, though both were grinning as the blood rushed to their heads from their upside down position.

"But hey, that was a brilliant spell," Fred said.

"Yeah. Bloody brilliant. You little twirps'll have to teach it to us sometime," George agreed.

"What, and reveal our tricks to you? No way, we're not stupid," Hadrian laughed, flopping into the seat on the compartment. "Just surrender to us, and then we'll let you go."

"Never!" the twins shouted again.

Draco looked over at Hadrian, grinning slyly. "Hey Hadrian, how about we use _that?_"

Hadrian's eyes opened wide, a grin spreading over his lips again. "_That? _Are you sure, Drake? Do you think they'll be able to take _that?"_

The twins looked nervously at each other. Ron watched in silence, wondering what _that_ was. "Hey kid, what's _that?_" George gulped.

"_That_ is sounding kinda ominous right now," Fred added.

Draco and Hadrian turned to level their grins at the twins. "Here, have a taste of _that," _they both said in unison, raising their wands and shouting "_Rictumsempra!"_ at the two Weasleys.

Fred and George immediately started squirming, giggling and twisting around, though still kept upside down in the air by their ankles. Ron laughed when he realized _that _was a tickling charm, and a strong tickling charm by the way Fred and George were thrashing all over the place, tears of laughter streaming down their faces.

"Stop, stop," begged George.

"We give! We give!" Fred exclaimed.

Shooting each other smug looks, Hadrian and Draco flicked their wands as one, though their actions were mirrored since they had different wand hands. Fred and George immediately dropped to the ground, the _Levicorpus _and the tickling charms lifted.

Standing up breathless from the laughter and wiping tears from their eyes, the Weasley twins regarded the two first years before them.

"Hey George," Fred said.

"What, Fred?" George replied.

"I think these two little brats'll mean the end of our legend as the greatest pranksters in Hogwarts, George," Fred mused.

"Then we'll just have to work harder, won't we, Fred?" George grinned.

Hadrian and Draco exchanged a look.

"That's only if you'll be able to live down what we just did," Draco said.

"'Cause that defeat'll haunt you for the rest of your years at Hogwarts," Hadrian continued.

"And we'll be the undefeated first years who managed to one-up the famous Weasley twins," Draco added.

"So you better watch out, 'cause a new legend's here," finished Hadrian.

Fred and George smirked. "Looks like we've got ourselves some tough rivals," Fred decided.

"If you think us tough now, wait 'till you see all the other tricks we have up our sleeves." Hadrian and Draco grinned back.

As if sharing some secret understanding, Hadrian and Draco high fived Fred and George, laughing together with the two Weasley twins. "This'll be an exciting year, won't it, kids?" asked George.

"Absolutely," replied Hadrian and Draco together. The twins left the compartment, after giving the two younger pranksters double thumbs up, warning them to watch out for their retaliation. The crowd outside the compartment, after having watched the confrontation between the two first years and the Weasley twins in shock, slowly dispersed, everyone mumbling about the crazy new first year duo. Hadrian grinned at Draco. "Looks like we've made a name for ourselves."

Ron finally found his tongue. "Made a name for yourselves? That was bloody _brilliant_. I've never seen Fred and George actually having a prank pulled on _them._ You guys will be the talk of the entire _school._ If you wanted attention, well, you have it now. You've officially started your first year as the two troublemakers who upped the Weasley twins."

Draco smirked in delight. "Hear that, Hadrian? Looks like Weasley here's finally understood our genius."

"Hey, Ron, how about we be friends, then?" Hadrian asked suddenly, "You're the first one we pranked, and it's cause of you that we were able to get our great debut. Besides, you seem all right, for a Weasley. You didn't get super pissed when we turned you pink, at least."

"Are you kidding, Hades?" Draco asked suddenly. "He's a _Weasley._ We're _Malfoys._ In case you haven't noticed, there's a feud going on between our families."

Hadrian just shrugged, but Ron frowned. "Wait a second," he interjected, "You two are twin _brothers?_"

Two stunned sets of eyes looked blankly at Ron, one pair grey, and one pair green. "What the hell are you talking about, Weasley?" Draco finally asked.

"Well," Ron replied, utterly confused by the enigma that was Draco and Hadrian before him, "You just said that you were both Malfoys, and you guys are the same age, so that must mean that you're twin brothers, right?"

Hadrian looked uncomfortable, his green eyes darkening as he looked away from Ron's puzzled gaze. "Um," Hadrian replied, for the first time seeming troubled. Ron suddenly realized that he had trodden into forbidden territory, an area that was best left unmentioned for the moment.

"No, well, I'm just curious, you don't have to answer-" Ron began, hastily backtracking, but he was too late.

Eyes narrowing at the still bright pink boy, Draco grabbed Hadrian's arm. "Come on, Hades. Let's go back to our compartment, ok? Tell you what, we can go see Blaise and maybe check out that black eye he's got from earlier."

Hadrian nodded, regaining some of his former spirit. Draco all but dragged Hadrian out the door, leaving Ron staring forlornly after them. At the door to the compartment, however, Hadrian turned his head and cast a quick smile to Ron. "See you at Hogwarts, Ron," Hadrian called back over his shoulder. "Hope we get sorted into the same House."

Taking that as a sign that everything was ok between them, Ron smiled and waved. "See you there, Hadrian, Draco," Ron called back happily. It was only after the compartment door had closed and Ron was sitting alone once again, this time happily anticipating the arrival at Hogwarts that Ron remembered to look down at himself. Shooting up to his feet, Ron scrambled over to the compartment door and shoved it open, sticking his head out and yelling down the narrow aisle beside the compartment doors, "HEY HADRIAN, I'M STILL PINK!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is the last chapter that I have ready made. Updates will be around once a week, I hope. I realize that many people might like the Weasleys, so I've tried to keep the Weasley bashing to a minimum. Well, to a small amount, at least. Personally, I like the Weasleys too, but they're too Weasley-ish to resist bashing a bit. I'll find a way to make Ron redeem himself later. Probably. On a completely unrelated note, here's a joke for everybody:

I wondered when the sun would rise. And then it dawned on me.

If you don't get the joke, then too bad, because I don't feel like explaining it. :P As always, please review!


	4. KnowItAll

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Excitement and anxious trepidation crackled through the air as the students waited to be sorted into the various Houses that they'll be in for the next seven years of their lives. Hadrian was standing next to Draco, Blaise on the other side of them and still grouchy from the black eye Hadrian had given him on the platform before the train had set off. Hadrian smirked at Draco, who nodded in understanding, grinning back. They were both unconcerned. After all, they already knew which House they would be sorted into. Most of the students there, like the Muggle-borns and the half-bloods, didn't even know what the sorting ceremony was about. But Hadrian and Draco had been raised under the proper guidance of proud purebloods Narcissa and Lucius, so they knew there was nothing to fear.

Hadrian looked around the small chamber they had been ushered into to await the sorting ceremony, bored. Spotting a flash of red hair, Hadrian suddenly grinned and grabbed Draco and Blaise by the arms, dragging them towards the red hair that acted like a beacon in the crowd.

"Hey, Hadrian!" Draco started to say, but soon gave up resisting and let Hadrian drag him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to break out of Hadrian's grip anyways. Blaise, however, was less compliant.

"Hadrian, let go!" Blaise yelled, twisting and crashing into a bunch of other students in the crowd, causing a multitude of grumbles and exclamations from the surrounding students. Hadrian completely ignored him, continuing to drag him along behind him through the crowd.

When Hadrian finally caught Ron's eye, Hadrian grinned. Ron waved, and Hadrian came to a stop before him, releasing Draco and Blaise. "Oh, so that's what's got you so worked up. I should've known that you'd have caught sight of the Weasley," Draco muttered, straightening out his robes, which had been slightly wrinkled from his mistreatment.

Hadrian rolled his eyes at Draco's antics. He knew Draco wasn't truly angry, only muttering under his breath because he thought there should be a fair show of reluctance before talking to a Weasley. Turning back to Ron, Hadrian pulled Blaise in front of him from where Blaise had been trying to sneak off. "Hey, Ron. This is Blaise Zabini," Hadrian introduced.

Blaise looked Ron from top to bottom, silently evaluating the boy. Ron fidgeted nervously from under the boy's gaze. Blaise's dark chocolate eyes were inscrutable, and the Zabini family had always had a bad reputation of being involved with You-Know-Who, back before his downfall. So had the Malfoys, Ron reminded himself, and though Draco sometimes acted like it could be possible that his family had been tied to the Dark Lord, Hadrian obviously didn't care.

Blaise finally opened his mouth. "Hadrian, this is a _Weasley._ What d'you bring me here for? It's not like the Weasleys are worth getting to know," Blaise whined.

Hadrian smacked Blaise on the back of his head. "Blaise, his name is Ron. And he's perfectly nice, for a Weasley, since we turned him pink and he was ok with it. He's our friend now, so you better be polite to him."

Blaise looked at Ron with disgust once again, and Ron couldn't hide his evident dislike of the boy either. Seeing it was futile, Hadrian sighed, releasing the back of Blaise's robes, which he had been holding to keep the other boy from running away. "Fine, Blaise. Whatever."

Blaise quickly walked off, heading towards another knot of purebloods a little ways away from the rest of the crowd. "Sorry 'bout that, Ron. He's not always such a pain. He must still be mad about the black eye I gave him earlier, even though when we visited him on the train I healed it for him after he complained about it for most of the ride here," Hadrian said with an apologetic smile, running his hand through his wild curls.

"Yeah, you should've seen his face," Draco added, having stayed silent during Blaise's introduction, "His eyes were like a raccoon's, and it must've hurt like hell. Trust me, Weasley, you don't wanna be on the receiving end of one of Hadrian's punches."

"Really? Huh. Bet I could beat him in a fight," Ron challenged, looking Hadrian up and down. Though Hadrian was fit, he had a slight build; lithe and lean. Ron was heavier, with sturdy muscles that came from being the youngest of six brothers.

"You're on," Hadrian accepted with an easy smile. "Don't blame me though when I send you to the Hospital Wing."

Ron crossed his arms. "Yeah? We'll see who's going to the Hospital Wing."

"Enough," Draco ordered, annoyed that he wasn't as strong in wrestling as Hadrian.

Sensing his best friend's mood, Hadrian wisely steered to easier topics. "Hey Ron, how d'you like the spell we put on you? It was pretty awesome, wasn't it?"

Ron narrowed his eyes. "You didn't lift the spell off of me on purpose, didn't you?" he asked, "I stayed pink for the whole way here! Even when we got onto the boats to get here I was pink. And whatever hex it was that you put on me even glowed in the dark. I had to stand at the prow of my boat since there was a shortage of lanterns, and that gamekeeper Hagrid said that since I was so conveniently glowing anyways, I could serve as a light for my boat! You cannot _imagine_ the humiliation I went through."

"Yeah we saw you," Draco agreed, leaning on Hadrian's shoulder in thanks for the topic change. They were the same height anyways, so it was a comfortable position. "From our boat we were laughing like crazy. You just had to stand so still, and there were even flies buzzing around you since they were attracted to the glow."

Ron huffed in anger. "Well, next time, you better watch out, Draco, since I might hex _you_ when you aren't looking."

Draco smiled devilishly. "Oh really?" he asked in a quiet voice, "And do you _really_ want to test our power, Weasley?" Draco was still leaning on Hadrian's shoulder, making it absolutely certain whom he was talking about when he said 'our'. Ron gulped. Draco by himself Ron thought he might have had a chance to be able to handle, but Draco and Hadrian together were nigh on invincible.

"Uh, well, maybe not," Ron finished lamely.

Hadrian grinned, diffusing the tense atmosphere by slapping Ron on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Ron. You're friends with us, so we'll get you to an expert prankster level in no time."

Ron smiled, but then a thought occurred to him. "That reminds me, Draco, Hadrian, why aren't you with the other purebloods over in that corner," Ron asked, gesturing over to where Blaise had disappeared in a group of purebloods from famous families. "I mean, I'm a Weasley, so I don't belong over there with _their _group, but you guys are obviously one of _them_. Why're you here with me?"

Draco looked over to the group in the corner and sneered. "We know all of them already. There's Blaise, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode. We've all practically grown up together, so it's boring to just stand over there. Besides, Hadrian wants to be over here consorting with blood-traitors, so who am I to deny him?"

Hadrian mock punched Draco's shoulder, and Draco grinned. "What Draco's _trying_ to say," Hadrian sighed exasperatedly, "Is that since we know all of the people there already, it's better to meet new people and make new friends. Right, Draco?" Hadrian asked with a vicious elbow in the ribs.

"Oof," Draco grunted, "Yeah, 'course, Hades. Nobody'll dare argue with you. Man, that elbow's _dangerous_."

Ron grinned, satisfied that his new friends weren't with him just because they wanted to make fun of him. At that moment, a girl with bushy hair walked right into Hadrian, knocking into his chest and stumbling backwards a little from the impact.

"Hey, careful there," Hadrian reacted automatically, grabbing the girl's elbow to keep her from falling.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hades, she bumped into _you._ She should be the one apologizing, you know. You're too nice for your own good." For once, Ron agreed with Draco. It seemed that Hadrian really was somehow nicer than most. Ron knew that if the girl had bumped into _him_, he would probably have let her fall before grumbling about being bumped into.

The girl looked up, her bushy hair covering her face, before it was brushed back with an arm revealing brown eyes and an annoyed expression. "Hey, you just made me forget _everything_ I've just memorized as preparation for the Sorting Ceremony," the girl exclaimed angrily, shaking the book she had been reading in Hadrian's astonished face.

"Hey, girl, Hades just stopped you from falling. The least you could do is actually thank him for it," Draco huffed defensively, standing in front of Hadrian and snatching the book from the girl's flailing arms. With the sudden loss of her book, the girl blinked in surprise before she put her hands on her hips, staring angrily back at Draco, refusing to back down. Draco held the book high up in the air above the girl, who was shorter than him by around half a foot. "Hey, if you want your book back so bad, apologize and thank Hadrian and then maybe I'll consider giving it back to you."

Ron nodded his agreement to show that he was on Draco and Hadrian's side when the girl's angry brown gaze fell on him. Ron was actually surprised that Draco, who seemed as if he didn't care about anything most of the time, would be so defensive of Hadrian. The bond between the two was very strong, Ron decided, since it seemed as if Hadrian was the only one who could make Draco do anything that wasn't for himself.

Ron crossed his arms and stood shoulder to shoulder with Draco, forming a wall between the girl and Hadrian. The girl's eyes widened a bit when she saw the two taller boys confronting her, noticing for the first time what she had gotten herself into. "Now, apologize to Hadrian," Draco demanded, "Or your precious book goes up in flames." Draco had taken his wand out and pointed it at the book in his left hand. The girl's eyes narrowed immediately when she saw that her book was at risk.

"You wouldn't _dare," _she hissed at him.

"Try me," Draco replied nonchalantly, twirling his wand between his fingers in much the same move as Ron had seen Hadrian do earlier on the train.

The girl stomped in frustration and jumped for the book, but Draco was taller and only raised it a bit higher, farther from her reach. "Oops, I think your little book's gonna fry," Draco began, preparing to cast the spell.

The book was suddenly lifted out of Draco's hands from behind. Turning around in surprise, Draco saw that Hadrian had easily reached up and plucked the book from his fingers, they being both the same height. "Hey Drake, Ron, it's not nice to bully girls," Hadrian admonished, playing with the book in his hands before walking up to the girl.

"Here you go, I'm sorry for their behavior. They're kinda quick to act, if you know what I mean," Hadrian smiled at the girl, shoving the book into the girl's arms.

"What do you mean, quick to act? Are you implying we don't think things through? If any one of us is too quick to act then it's you, Hadrian," Draco mocked, slapping the back of Hadrian's head.

Hadrian laughed again, not seeming offended at all. "That's why I depend on you for the brains, Draco. Since we both know I haven't got any."

Sticking his tongue out at Draco, Hadrian ducked to avoid Draco's continued slaps on his head. "Hey!" Hadrian yelled, still laughing, "If you hit my head like that, I won't have any brain cells left!"

Ron laughed and joined into the scuffle, doing his best to hold Draco off from Hadrian. Finally, when Draco had decided that Hadrian had gotten enough slaps on the head, did they break apart. Hadrian turned to face the girl again, breathless from his laughing and cheeks red from amusement. "Sorry, I was just ambushed by a crazy dragon."

That got him another round of slaps from Draco, although Ron saw that Draco was laughing as well as he chased Hadrian in circles around the girl, who was staring slack-jawed at the display. Their laughter rang throughout the room, causing many of the other students to turn and notice the pair, the only ones in the whole room who weren't tense with anticipation for the sorting.

When Hadrian and Draco both stood beside Ron again, both out of breath, Hadrian faced the girl again. "My name's Hadrian, this is Draco Malfoy," Hadrian said, gesturing over to where Draco stood panting with his hands on his knees, "And this is Ron Weasley," Hadrian slapped Ron's shoulder, though Ron was still trying to choke back his laughter and causing tears to come out of his eyes. "Nice ta meet ya," Hadrian finished.

The girl stared over the three of them. Draco was panting, hands still on knees, his usually immaculate appearance uncharacteristically messed up by Hadrian and his glossy blond hair sticking out in random directions. Ron had both hands over his mouth, his face red from the force of his repressed laughter and matching the vibrant hue of his red hair. Hadrian was grinning at her, his raven dark hair messy as usual, his green eyes glittering from the fun. Finally, the girl raised an eyebrow. "I've read about the Malfoys, and the Weasleys as well. But who're _you?_" the girl asked, directing her question to Hadrian.

Ron immediately stopped laughing, sensing the conversation heading to dangerous grounds, just like he had accidentally done earlier on the train. Trying to send silent signals to the girl by shaking his head and motioning with his eyes, Ron tried to stop her from going further with her question. Unfortunately, Ron wasn't very good at silent signals, and only succeeded in making the girl think he was having a seizure.

Draco had stopped panting as well, noticing the direction the conversation was taking. "Hey, girl," Draco interjected, "Keep your nose outta our business."

Frowning, Hadrian looked over at Draco, but didn't bother to complain about his rudeness, which Ron took to mean that Hadrian really didn't like to talk about the topic, enough so that he was willing to overlook something he wouldn't normally do. The girl fixed her glare on Draco. "Yes, I know who _you_ are. A Malfoy, obviously, with your white hair and arrogant personality, thinking you're the best just because you're a pureblood."

Ron frowned at the girl. She really was quite rude, considering that they hadn't done anything to her. "Don't make fun of his family," Ron said, marveling that he, a Weasley, was actually standing up for a Malfoy.

Draco must've thought along the same lines, since Draco gave Ron a small clap on the back. The girl obviously thought the same thing as well, since she looked at Ron with calculating eyes, her eyebrows raised. "A Weasley, standing up for a Malfoy? I thought your families had a blood feud? You two are supposed to hate each other's guts. That's what all the books say, anyways."

Hadrian looked a little angry. "Hey, girl, books aren't always right, you know. Besides, have you ever read anything about manners? Talking to people like that is unacceptable in today's magical society."

The girl snorted. "Well, the Malfoys deserve it, since they're really nothing but a bunch of stuck up snobs with nothing going for them but their blood status and their money. And the Weasleys aren't accepted _anywhere_, what with being dirt poor. It's a wonder that they have so many kids running around. You'd think that with their evident financial deficit, they would know better than to keep having more."

"Hey, don't you make fun of my family!" Ron yelled out at her.

The girl just continued on, paying no heed to Ron. "What I'm interested in is who _you _are, since you aren't a Weasley or a Malfoy, but somehow you're able to bring them together. Now, what's your last name? If you tell me then I'm sure I'll know about your family already. I've already researched most of the half blood and pureblood lines from the books I got, so unless your family is some obscure name in the wizarding world and beneath recognition, then I'll know who you are."

Hadrian growled angrily at the girl, spitting the words out as if it was torture saying them, "If you _must_ know, girl, I have no last name. I'm an orphan, and I don't know anything about my parents. Draco's family raised me and I grew up with them as my foster family, and they've just accepted me, despite having no knowledge of my background or history. So don't you _dare_ make fun of him, or Ron either, since he's now my newest friend. You talk about the Malfoys thinking that they're the best because they're purebloods like it's a bad thing. Well, I'll tell you what. From what I see, they're infinitely better than _you._"

For the first time, Draco and Ron witnessed Hadrian really, truly angry. His magic swirled around him in a whirlwind; ruffling his hair and making his robes billow out about him. The students who were closest to them screamed, scrambling back from Hadrian's form, which had been obscured by a shield of pure, crackling green energy.

The howling of the wind around Hadrian increased, until it roared in the small chamber where all the first years were kept before the sorting ceremony. Ron was forced back a couple of steps from the sheer force that blew against him, and raised his arms to cover his head. The girl was hunched over on the ground, her bushy hair being blown everywhere, her hands over her ears and her eyes scrunched up in fear.

Draco was the only one who seemed moderately calm in the maelstrom, holding his arms up against the wind to protect his face. Draco managed to stay on his feet, and he forced his way over to where Hadrian was standing in the eye of the storm of magic he had conjured. Draco took Hadrian's hand in his and yelled his name, though the words were snatched away by the wind. Grabbing both sides of Hadrian's head, Draco forced Hadrian to face him; to look at him, while continuing to yell his name. Hadrian's eyes, which had become dim as the magic exploded out of him, focused on Draco in front of him, as Hadrian forced himself to calm down. Slowly, ever so slowly, the wind receded, until all that was left was a gentle breeze that danced around the room, playing in people's hair and ruffling their clothes.

Everything was silent, all the first years in the chamber staring in shock and fear as Hadrian regained control of his magic. Looking around quickly, Hadrian noticed the scene he had caused. "Hey everybody," Hadrian called in a tone that sounded forced to both Ron and Draco, but to everybody else managed to sound cheerful. "Hope you enjoyed the show. You gotta remember us now, Draco, Ron and Hadrian, the first year invincible trio!"

There were some cheering and clapping, before the students resumed their previous conversations, assured by Hadrian's announcement that the burst of magic had been nothing but a grab for attention. Only Ron, Draco, and the girl knew differently.

After making sure that nobody was watching them anymore, Hadrian finally sagged against Draco's support, slinging an arm around his neck. "Merlin, I can't believe I exploded like that. I haven't done that in, how long Draco? Three years?"

Ron and Draco huddled around Hadrian, protecting him from prying eyes. "Yeah, Hades. Three years. That was the biggest one ever, though. Even I was scared for a second," Draco answered in a whisper.

Ron nodded when Hadrian looked at him with tired green eyes. "Yeah, Hadrian, that was something. If you could do that, then you're no doubt the strongest first year here. Maybe even the strongest first year in the history of this school."

Hadrian grinned, regaining some of his energy, though still leaning heavily on Draco's shoulders. "Bet that impressed the others, huh? Thanks to my quick thinking, we'll be remembered for that little stunt."

Draco frowned at Hadrian. "We'll be remembered, yeah, but look at you. You can't even stand properly. How do you think you can go through Sorting in your condition? You'll be lucky if you don't pass out. I remember you always did that before when you exploded."

Hadrian waved away Draco's warning, getting his feet back under him and removing the arm still around Draco's neck. Swaying for a second, Draco grabbed Hadrian's arm and steadied him. Closing his eyes and concentrating, Hadrian took a couple of deep breaths before opening his eyes again. "There, see? Resurrection completed. I can stand fine. I've stood up again after worse experiences. Besides, I'm older since the last time my magic exploded, so I have more endurance."

Draco sighed and looked at Ron with harassed eyes. "Do you see what I've had to live with for my entire life?" Draco groaned to Ron. Ron grinned, seeing that Draco was just making a fuss out of nothing. Even if Ron hadn't been the most observational of the three boys, even Ron could see how much Draco and Hadrian depended on and trusted one another.

There was a little sound from behind Ron. Turning around, Ron saw that it was that same rude girl again, the know-it-all who had caused everything to happen. Narrowing his eyes, Ron glowered at the girl. "What do you want?" he asked brusquely.

Draco openly sneered. "Don't you think you've done enough? Or do you want me to hex you so you can properly learn your lesson?" The girl's brown eyes were shiny with tears, and, seeing them, Draco just scoffed, "Oh, don't cry and make yourself look pitiful. That's why I hate girls. A couple of tears and they think the world will bow down at their feet. It's disgusting how selfish you can be."

Hadrian sighed and tiredly pushed Draco away from where he was leaning threateningly over the girl. "I'm sorry, again, for what this guy's saying," Hadrian said.

"Hades, you can't actually be _apologizing _after what she did-" Draco shouted, but Hadrian raised a hand to Draco's shoulder, sending him a glance. Looking as if he wanted to argue more, Draco gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll trust you to handle it. But she doesn't deserve _anything_."

Hadrian rolled his eyes. Ron grabbed Hadrian's arm, trying to stop him as well, but with a pleading look from Hadrian Ron let go with a sigh, contenting himself with staring daggers at the girl, since Hadrian wanted to speak to her in peace.

"And I'm sorry," Hadrian continued from where he had been interrupted, "For exploding like that with my magic. Every since I was small my magic has been greater than most, and at times I'm unable to control it, like when my emotions are on a heightened level. I am sorry if I frightened you, or caused any alarm. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The girl nodded, her eyes still shining with unshed tears. Hadrian ran his hand through his messy hair, which had become even more tangled from the windstorm of magic. "But I do not apologize for what I said, since I meant every single word. I think that you spoke selfishly and with prejudice. Books only provide a biased view, biased because they were written in the author's perspective. Sometimes, you have to get to know people yourselves before you judge them. Yes, the Malfoys and the Weasleys don't exactly get along, but friendships can form nonetheless, as you can see. Sometimes I guess you just have to open your mind, and allow for new concepts and ideas to enter."

Ron blinked, astounded by Hadrian's speech. He had thought Hadrian was just a joker, someone who liked fun and games, but wasn't all that into studying and schoolwork. But this was a completely new, insightful side to Hadrian. Ron found that the more he got to know about Hadrian, the more of an enigma he became, and the more he seemed to contradict himself. Looking over at Draco, Ron somehow wasn't surprised to see Draco wearing a satisfied expression.

"Well said, Hades. I see you have some brains that I haven't beat out of you yet after all." Draco grinned at Hadrian when he looked back, and Hadrian smiled as well.

"From the rate of my brain cell loss, though, in a couple of years I'll be reduced to a vegetable. Be appreciative of my brief moments of intelligence, since not everyone can be smart _all _the time like you, Drake," Hadrian said.

"Um," came a quiet voice.

All three boys looked at the girl again. "What _now?"_ Draco asked, obviously annoyed.

"I'm sorry," mumbled the girl softly, her head bowed and her book clutched to her chest so that the only thing visible of her was her bushy hair.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't catch that. What?" asked Hadrian, leaning closer to better hear the girl.

"I'm sorry, ok?" the girl yelled, her suddenly loud voice sending Hadrian stumbling back and wincing as he rubbed his ears.

"Uh, for what, exactly?" Hadrian looked confused, turning his head to glance at Ron and Draco for support.

"Hadrian, I think she's trying to apologize for what she said earlier," Ron said, nudging his friend, incredulous at how thickheaded Hadrian could be after his amazing speech to the girl.

Understanding dawned, and Hadrian grinned down at the girl. "Oh, so that's it? No problem. I don't usually explode like that, so I apologize as well. Let's say that we're even, since we both did something wrong. Ok?" Hadrian held out his hand to the girl.

The girl looked surprised as well, looking up astonished at Hadrian's smiling face. Ron was stunned by how easily Hadrian could forgive, and forget. Draco looked put-upon, but he didn't argue as the girl slowly took Hadrian's outstretched hand. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Huh? I didn't do anything worthy of thanks," Hadrian muttered, running his hands through his hair again. Ron laughed at how clueless Hadrian was when it came to apologies and thanks. The girl gave Hadrian a watery smile as well, and Hadrian beamed at her, his green eyes absolutely shining with happiness.

"My name's Hermione, by the way. Hermione Granger," the girl told them. Hermione suddenly looked past Hadrian's shoulder, and screamed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry to all of the people who wanted me to make Hermione a good character. Don't worry; she's not going to be THAT bad. But in the first book Harry and Ron didn't like her in the beginning either, so I'm trying to make it more realistic-ish. If Harry and Ron, who were Gryffindors, didn't like her in the beginning, then Hadrian and Draco, who are pureblood Slytherins, would like her even less. And Ron is just… well, Ron. He doesn't like her know-it-all attitude, and he even complains about it in the beginning. Like I said, I'm trying to follow the book as much as possible. Anyways, please review!


	5. Sorted

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Screams filled the chamber as most of the new students looked up. Hadrian looked up as well, just to see what was causing such a huge commotion. The people around him gasped, and Hermione was pale with fright, her brown eyes wide and staring.

About twenty ghosts had streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing, about a peculiar character named Peeves. Suddenly, a ghost wearing a ruff and tights noticed the first years in the chamber.

"I say, what are you all doing here," the ghost asked.

Silence greeted his question, until Hadrian nudged Draco and gestured up at the ghost, before calling out, "Hey, you're Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, aren't you? The ghost of Gryffindor?"

Sir Nicholas looked down beaming at the boy with dark hair and green eyes. "Why, yes, my boy. I'm glad at least one of you youngsters here know me by name."

"Yeah, you're Nearly-Headless Nick," Draco shouted out.

Sir Nicholas looked positively affronted, and glared down at the pale boy standing next to the dark haired one. "Yes, but I would _prefer_ if you addressed me as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-"

"Fred and George told me about you," Ron gasped. "They said that you were beheaded by a blunt ax, and your head never did come off right."

"Nearly-Headless? How can you be _nearly _headless?" asked a boy from across the room.

Sir Nicholas was interrupted from his response by the opening of the chamber doors once more. Seeing the ghosts, Professor McGonagall said in a sharp voice, "Move along now. The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall organized the first years into a line, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. It was lit by thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Hadrian caught Severus' eye, or Professor Snape as he should be called, and grinned up at his godfather. Severus replied with a nod, before looking away to observe the other first years. Hadrian's eyes wandered over the Professors' table, and his eyes caught on the teacher sitting next to Severus. It was a man who looked as if he would die from fright just by sitting in the Great Hall, his face pale and his fingers nervously twisting themselves into knots. On his head was a giant purple turban. Hadrian smirked to himself. It was the look of a teacher who could easily be pranked without fear of retaliation.

Looking up at the ceiling of the Great Hall, there was a velvety black sky above, dotted with stars. Ron gasped from his place behind Hadrian, having obviously never seen anything like it before. Hadrian shrugged and looked back at the other students, more interested in seeing what his fellow peers will be like. Hadrian heard Hermione whisper back to him, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History."_

Grinning at the back of her bushy head, Hadrian whispered back, "Yeah, and the spell's incredibly easy to do. It's on page 113 of the _Standard Book of Spells Grade 3, _if you wanted to know_."_

Gasping out loud, Hermione whirled to face Hadrian, her eyes gleaming with surprise. "What? How did you know? We're first years, we shouldn't have even _started_ such advanced magic as in the _Standard Book of Spells Grade 3._"

"Ms. Granger, as interesting as you find Mr. Hadrian to be, I must ask you to continue walking down the Great Hall," came Professor McGonagall's sharp voice. Huffing at the reproach, Hermione turned around and started walking again, having held the entire line up.

"How could you say that the spell is easy? We still have three years to go before we can attempt it," she hissed over her shoulder.

Hadrian chuckled. Proving that he was smarter than Hermione was proving to be very funny. Draco apparently thought the same thing as him, since, after having gotten over his initial complete dislike of the girl, Draco leaned over from beside Hadrian and whispered, "We can even show you how to do it if you'd like. We've already mastered most of the spells in the first five years from our textbooks. Leaves more time for further research, don't you think?"

Making a sound of frustration, Hermione whirled around again to confront Draco. However, before she could say anything, McGonagall's voice came again. "Ms. Granger, will you _please_ stop fraternizing with the boys behind you and _keep on walking_."

Muffled chuckles sounded across the Great Hall, and Hermione turned a deep red color before turning around and pointedly ignoring Hadrian and Draco. Taking pity on the girl, Hadrian called up to McGonagall, "Sorry Professor. Hermione was just informing Draco and I about the enchanted ceiling, since Hermione's so smart that she's already read all about it from _Hogwarts: A History._ Hermione's even told us that it was in the fifth year of Headmaster Armando Dippet's time as Headmaster that the enchanted ceiling was first created, because the Headmaster wanted to create a more open feel within the Great Hall." Hadrian was rather proud of adding that little touch to the end himself, since it made his story all the more convincing.

Murmurs of surprise went through the students, and Professor McGonagall's severe expression softened somewhat. "Well, if Ms. Granger really is so knowledgeable already about our school, that is truly a marvelous thing. Whichever House you're Sorted into, Ms. Granger, that House will be lucky to have a student like you."

Cheers sounded from the Ravenclaw table, since Ravenclaw was the House that most valued knowledge and the pursuit of it. Hadrian saw from behind Hermione that her ears had turned pink. From Hadrian's other side, Draco smiled, and, leaning over again, Draco whispered, "Best remember to keep on walking next time, eh Hermione?"

She didn't answer, and instead continued to walk straight ahead until they came to a stop in front of the table of Professors. Looking over at Draco, Hadrian grinned at how successful they had been able to tease her. Both boys' eyes turned as McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. The hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

Hadrian whispered to Draco, "Hey Drake, how do you feel having to put _that _on your precious hair?"

Draco made a face of utter disgust, and Hadrian had to bite the sleeve of his robe to muffle his laughter. As such, he still earned himself a sharp glare from McGonagall. Suddenly, the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry,_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folks use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Hadrian laughed as the old hat finished its song. "I still don't want to put it on my hair. Even if it can talk, it's still a dirty old hat," Draco muttered from beside Hadrian.

"Think of it this way, Drake, maybe you'll be exuding such Slytherin-like mental waves that the hat'll be able to sense it even before it touches your hair. And then both you and the hat'll be happy, right?" Draco huffed at Hadrian's suggestion, before McGonagall spoke again.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blond pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause-

"HUFFLEPUFF," shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Hadrian glanced over and saw the ghost of the Fat Friar, Hufflepuff's ghost, waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan" went to Hufflepuff as well. Hadrian waited patiently as the McGonagall went down the alphabetical list of the new first years. "Boot, Terry," went to Ravenclaw, "Brown, Lavender," was the first Gryffindor, and "Bulstrode, Millicent," was the first Slytherin.

"Granger, Hermione," McGonagall called. Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR," shouted the hat. The Gryffindor table cheered at the new first year who apparently knew so much, while the Ravenclaw table groaned at losing such a promising member for their House.

"Longbottom, Neville," was sorted into Gryffindor next, after the hat loudly deliberated to the whole Hall over whether he should be Sorted into Hufflepuff or into Gryffindor. A couple of students more, and "Malfoy, Draco," was called.

Draco swaggered forwards when his name was called and put the hat onto his almost white hair with obvious reluctance and a grimace in Hadrian's direction. Grinning, Hadrian gave him a thumbs-up for encouragement. The hat spent about five seconds thinking it over, which was a shorter time than what it spent for the rest of the students, until it finally screamed out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Draco went to join the cheering Slytherins, welcomed at once amidst the students because of his almost celebrity family name. The Malfoys were a long line of very rich purebloods, after all, and every one of them had been a Slytherin.

"Parkinson, Pansy," was called, and Hadrian watched the girl he had sometimes played with as a child walk up. Pansy looked around the Great Hall a little uncertainly, and when her gaze swept over him Hadrian grinned at her in support. Giving Hadrian a tiny smile, Pansy put the hat over her head, where it fell over her eyes. "SLYTHERIN," the hat called.

Hadrian watched as a bunch of other first years he hadn't met before go up and try on the hat. Whenever one of the first years happened to look in his direction, Hadrian smiled and gave them nods of reassurance. Draco wouldn't have approved, Hadrian knew, but he thought the least he could do was to comfort some of the Muggle-borns who looked scared out of their wits and ready to run out of the Great Hall crying.

"Weasley, Ronald."

"Go get them, Ron," Hadrian whispered, clapping his friend on the back. Ron looked distinctly nervous, despite being a pureblood as well. "You'll be fine," Hadrian added when Ron's skin paled even further, turning a slight green color. Giving Hadrian a weak nod, Ron weakly advanced to the hat and put it on as if he was going to his own execution.

"GRYFFINDOR."

The Gryffindor table cheered, and Hadrian saw Fred and George Weasley welcome their little brother to the table, Hermione Granger clapping as well from across the plates and silverware. Smiling as Ron looked over to where he still stood, Hadrian silently congratulated him.

Only Hadrian and Blaise Zabini were left. "Zabini, Blaise," was called, and Blaise smiled at Hadrian a little, looking pale as well under his dark skin.

"You'll be fine, Blaise. Slytherin for sure, right?" Hadrian mock punched Blaise on the arm. "Besides, I gave you that black eye on the platform for good luck."

Laughing a little at that, Blaise advanced much more confidently than he had been a moment before. "Thanks, Hades," Blaise muttered as he passed him.

Sitting on the stool with the Sorting Hat on his head, Blaise waited while it made its decision. "SLYTHERIN," it finally yelled. Cheers greeted Blaise as he took off the hat, and Hadrian gave Blaise a high five as he ran past him, heading towards the Slytherin table. Finally, only Hadrian was left waiting to be Sorted.

"No-Last-Name, Hadrian," McGonagall called down. Mutters and whispers circulated around the Great Hall at Hadrian's odd lack of a last name, but Hadrian ignored it and cheekily sent a wave out at the students sitting in front of him along the four tables, before placing the hat on his head and sitting down like he had seen all the other students do.

"Well, well, well," said a small voice in his ear. "So finally I will be able to sort you. I must admit that all of the other students before have had you in their minds, either as a close figure or as a nameless face encouraging them in the crowd when they were nervous… I must admit, that was admirable what you did, encouraging the other students… Yes. How difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes, and more than enough power to achieve your wildest dreams – and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you? I see you share the same joy of tricks and pranks as another boy I just Sorted. Now where did I put him? Into Slytherin, yes. His mind was definitely that of a Slytherin. But you, however, you are… different."

Hadrian thought he knew whom the hat was talking about. "Yes, that was my best friend and brother, Draco Malfoy, that you're talking about," Hadrian thought to the hat, wondering if the hat would be able to understand his thoughts as he thought them.

"Oh really? Your brother? But you do not share a family… Oh yes, I see from your memories, you have been accepted into their family as one of their own… Curiouser and curiouser, that the Malfoys would ever accept any not of their blood into their family…"

Hadrian was getting annoyed with the hat for picking on the Malfoys as well. Hadrian knew that the Malfoys didn't have the cleanest reputation, and had been known to be involved with Voldemort before his downfall, but Hadrian didn't see why people wouldn't let go of their old prejudices and try to at least accept them now for who they were. From what Hadrian could see, the Malfoys were a perfect family, a family who had enough love to spare that they had been willing to claim him as their own.

The hat, apparently, saw everything that went through Hadrian's head. "How interesting… Well, then, I suppose you would do fantastically in any House I put you in… but we can only decide on one…"

"Slytherin, please, if it's possible," Hadrian thought up to the hat, "Draco's in Slytherin, and we've been together forever. It won't be fair to him if I'm suddenly in a different House. Besides, Severus my godfather wants me to be in his old House as well."

"So you want to be in Slytherin, but not for yourself? You want to go to Slytherin so that you will appease those around you? What of your new friends, the youngest Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger? Won't you want to spend time with them in Gryffindor?"

Hadrian frowned, and thought, "Well, even if I'm in Slytherin it doesn't mean I won't be able to be friends with them anymore, hat, so I don't see what the problem is. Since you can't decide where to put me anyways, you might as well put me in the House that I want to be in."

The hat chuckled in his ear, before muttering a final, "I await great things from you, Hadrian No-Last-Name. You are quite different from any other child I have Sorted before. Well, then, since you so insist, I suppose you'll just have to go to SLYTHERIN."

The hat shouted the last word, and the Slytherin table erupted into cheers. Hadrian took of the hat happily, placing it gently on the stool and giving it a little pat before jogging over to sit beside Draco. Looking across the Great Hall, Hadrian waved to where Ron and Hermione sat looking at him. They grinned as well; though they both looked surprised that Hadrian had been Sorted into Slytherin.

"What took you so long, Hades? You were sitting up there for_ever_," Draco said to him, as he helped himself to the food that magically appeared in front of them.

"The old hat had trouble deciding where to put me, so I had to tell him to put me here," Hadrian replied, loading his plate with potatoes and roast chicken.

Draco snorted. "That hat's going senile, I bet. They should get a new hat sometime soon. Maybe a newer, cleaner one, and _definitely _a more fashionable one. That pointy old wizards hat's been out of style for _ages_."

"Yeah I saw that grimace when you hat to put it on. Come on, your hair looks perfect as always, and the hat wasn't _that _bad, you know. Only a bit old."

Draco, apparently satisfied that Hadrian had said his hair still looked perfect, glanced at the darker haired boy. "And _your _hair looks like a bird's nest, as always," he returned.

Hadrian just grinned, before suddenly shooting out a hand and ruffling Draco's hair. "Yeah? And whose hair is the bird's nest _now, _huh?"

"Hades! My _hair,_" Draco cried, both hands immediately going up to his head to try and smooth out the messed up strands of white blond hair, not even bothering to retaliate against Hadrian when there was the more pressing matter of his hair to take care of.

"Don't worry. Your messed up hair gives you the cool, tousled look. Girls go for that look, you know. You should thank me," Hadrian said with a sparkle in his eyes, nudging Draco slightly and looking over to where Pansy Parkinson was staring at them. "Pansy's been staring over for quite some time. Remember when we were kids, she always wanted to play with you?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hades, if I suddenly decide to chase after girls, you can be assured that _Parkinson_ is definitely not on my list of desirables. Besides, what if she's been looking over because of _you?_"

Hadrian shrugged nonchalantly before giving Pansy a small smile as apology for Draco's words. Pansy smiled back, blushing a little, and looked back to her food. "There's no reason to be so mean to her, we've all been friends since we were kids," Hadrian frowned, but let the subject drop.

Suddenly, Blaise called over from where he was sitting a couple of seats down the table. "Hades, Drake, we're all Slytherins this year! It's gonna be _awesome_!"

Draco grinned at Hadrian, before calling back, "What did you think, Blaise? We'd obviously all be in Slytherin, it's easily the best House here. Did you think any of us would be sorted into _Hufflepuff _or something?"

Laughter came from the Slytherins who had been listening to the two first years shouting. Hadrian looked quickly over at the Hufflepuff table, where some of the older kids were looking distinctly angry. Trying to remedy the situation, Hadrian called out, "But we'll have to work hard to get the House Cup this year, since Hufflepuff has gotten it for the past three years in a row. It's about time somebody broke their streak. This year's gonna be Slytherin's comeback!"

The Slytherins hooted with agreement, while the Hufflepuffs looked pleased that their House Cup record had been noted by the Slytherins. Hadrian smiled to himself, glad that nobody was angry over Draco's words anymore.

Draco elbowed Hadrian. "You're too nice, Hades. Who cares what the Hufflepuffs think of us? They're nothing but a bunch of duffers anyhow."

Hadrian just looked innocently back at Draco, saying, "When did I ever say that I cared what the Hufflepuffs thought?"

Draco just smiled and looked back at his food, shaking his head slightly at Hadrian's obvious lie. Draco had always been the better liar out of the two, since Hadrian wouldn't have been able to tell a lie to save his life.

The boy who was sitting on the other side of Hadrian suddenly looked over. "Hey, you guys were the ones who were causing such a commotion in the train compartment, weren't you? The ones who outpranked the Weasley twins?"

Hadrian grinned. "Yep. We're the ones. D'you like our little performance?"

The boy smiled back. "Liked it? You guys were amazing. I'm in fifth year and I don't even think that I would've been able to so completely defeat those twins. And you guys are only in first year. Mark my words, you guys are already famous for that stunt you pulled."

Draco smirked over to the fifth year boy. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, then. I'm Draco Malfoy, and this is Hadrian. You should remember us, since we intend to make this a very memorable year."

The boy laughed. "Is he always like this?" he asked Hadrian, looking at Draco with surprise.

Shrugging, Hadrian replied, "You should see him when he gets up in the mornings. I tell you, he's not one to mince words."

Laughing again, the boy held out a hand. "I'm Terence Higgs, fifth year Slytherin Seeker. Pleased to 'make your acquaintance', kids."

Hadrian shook the hand, and Draco leaned over and shook as well. "So you're the Slytherin Seeker? How's the team like?" Hadrian asked, completely absorbed in the conversation as soon as it turned to Quidditch.

"Alright, I guess. Marcus Flint's the team Captain, but he's sort of the aggressive type, you know? He plays Chaser. Miles Bletchley is the Keeper. We're ok, but I have to admit that I'm not the best Seeker, so we haven't gotten the Quidditch Cup in _ages_."

"Well, it doesn't matter about the Seeker, but if the Keeper's bad then the whole team goes down as well," Draco countered, "So this Miles Bletchley person's gotta step up his game."

Terence grinned. "That's what Flint says all the time as well, that Miles and I need to work harder. I don't know what I'm gonna do, though. It's my fifth year, so I'll have to study hard for my O.W.L.'s, and I won't have enough time to go to practice every week."

Hadrian's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? If you have a choice between studying and _Quidditch,_ the decision is practically made already. How can you give up Quidditch just cause you want to study?"

Terence's eyebrows rose at Hadrian's enthusiasm. "Well, tell you what. Tryouts are next weekend. First years never get on the team, but you guys can come watch at least. Maybe you guys'll even be able to make it on in a couple of years, if you're good enough."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Of _course_ we're good enough. And yes, we'll go to these _tryouts, _as participants of course. Hades and I are definitely good enough to be on the House team."

Terence raised his eyebrows as well. "Well, then, I wish you luck. If your names are anything to go by, you two would make formidable enemies. The Dragon and the King of Hell. I wonder what you two'll be like in a couple of years."

Hadrian pursed his lips. "That's a good point, Terence. My nickname is the King of the Underworld, and Draco's name means Dragon. That's pretty interesting, don't you think? And my real name, Hadrian, means Dark One. We have kinda depressing names, huh?"

Draco smirked. "No, they're strong names. They make us different from everybody else, from all of the people with ordinary names, like _Terence._ They make us special."

"Hey!" Terence exclaimed, but he didn't look offended, "Well, if you guys like your names then that's perfectly fine. Terence is good enough for me, thank you very much."

They resumed eating, and when the last of the desserts disappeared, Dumbledore got to his feet. The Hall fell silent.

"Ahem," the Headmaster began, "Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins, and Draco and Hadrian shared a smile. _They_ were going to be the top troublemakers from now on.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." Draco nudged Hadrian, and Hadrian nodded. They would definitely be contacting Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a _very_ painful death."

Draco shrugged. He wasn't very concerned with whatever was forbidden. Turning to look at Hadrian, though, Draco saw that Hadrian's expressive green eyes were alight with the beginnings of a plan. Sighing, Draco knew that eventually, he would be dragged into Hadrian's schemes yet again, but he smiled slightly at the thought of whatever Hadrian was thinking of. Whatever Hadrian came up with, at least Draco knew it would be fun, and he would go along with it anyways, after Hadrian begged him to for a while, of course. Life with Hadrian was never boring.

When Dumbledore finished with the announcements, Hadrian yawned widely and stood up, eager to get to bed. When he was on his feet, though, he staggered and almost fell, if Draco hadn't caught him in time. Draco looked at Hadrian in concern. The burst of magic from before the Sorting was the biggest Draco had seen from Hadrian yet, and it was bound to have tired him out. Draco was actually pretty impressed that Hadrian had been able to stay alert for so long, all through the opening banquet. Slinging one of Hadrian's arms over his shoulders and supporting him by his waist, Draco half-dragged Hadrian as they followed the rest of the Slytherin first years to their dorms in the dungeons.

"Drake, I'm fine," Hadrian mumbled grumpily, though his eyes were closed and Draco was supporting most of his weight.

Ignoring Hadrian's grumbling, Draco led them both through the portrait hole that guarded the Slytherin dormitories and Common Room, following the rest of the first years down spiral staircases deeper into the dungeons, and towards their beds. When they finally arrived down in their dormitories, Draco let go of Hadrian, who collapsed immediately onto his bed, not even bothering to take off his robes.

"Thanks, Drake," Draco heard Hadrian mutter before his breathing evened out in sleep. Draco rolled his eyes at the dark haired boy who was collapsed on the bed.

"Man, Hadrian sure falls asleep fast," Blaise commented from across the dormitory, where he was taking off his boots.

Draco assumed the icy expression he usually wore when Hadrian wasn't around, turning to sneer at Blaise. "Yes, I suppose he does," he replied blandly, in a tone that didn't encourage further conversation.

"I see that Hadrian's special ability to make you actually sociable hasn't changed at all from when we were playing together as kids, Draco. You're still a pain whenever Hadrian's not there," Blaise commented snidely, although he grinned. "I remember when we were young, nobody wanted to play with you since you were always so nasty, except Hadrian. He gradually made you come out of your shell, and he made us all friends. It's actually pretty amazing how he changed all of us, you most of all, Draco. You take care of him all the time now."

Draco looked down at the form sprawled over the emerald green bed sheets, the black robes and hair darkly contrasting the light tone of Hadrian's skin. Giving the sleeping figure a small smile, Draco lifted his gaze back to Blaise. "Well, he's such an idiot that I have no choice but to watch over him."

Blaise lifted his eyebrows, for a moment at a loss for words. "Hades would crack up if he heard you getting so sentimental. What happened to the icy front?"

Draco frowned and walked over to his bed, the one right beside Hadrian's. "I don't know what you're talking about, Zabini. I'm tired, and if you don't have anything better to say then good night," Draco said coldly, his grey eyes freezing as they looked over to Blaise.

Blaise just shook his head. "What would you two do if you were separated? Hadrian depends on you, Draco, more than he does with anyone else, even if he doesn't show it. And Draco, as much as you might not like to admit it, Hadrian's your whole life. What if one of you suddenly disappeared? Or what if one of you were taken away?"

Draco just continued to glare at Blaise, his magic increasing with his anger and making the room temperature drop to freezing. It was only when Hadrian groaned in his sleep at the cold that Draco was able to regain control, the temperature in the dungeon returning to normal. Blaise just watched in silence, a hint of smugness in his eyes. "We will never be separated," Draco sneered at Blaise, effectively ending all further conversation by shrugging out of his outer robes and crawling under his sheets, turning his back to Blaise.

Draco laid awake staring at Hadrian lying in the other bed, as he listened to Blaise chuckling as he got into his own bed as well. Draco's thoughts spiraled around what Blaise had said. It was true that Hadrian and he had always been together, ever since Snape had brought Hadrian to the Manor when they had been babies. Draco couldn't even remember his life when Hadrian wasn't a part of it. In fact, it was almost impossible to imagine life without Hadrian at all, to think how he would be different should Hadrian never have been a part of his life. Draco laid awake thinking about it until all the other first year boys were asleep, until the only sound in the dormitory was the soft breathing of the sleeping boys.

Three hours later, Draco still couldn't sleep, even though he knew that the next day would be the first day of classes and he would need to be alert and ready. Draco tossed and turned on his bed, but couldn't get comfortable, and the thoughts just kept on endlessly drifting around his head. Sighing in irritation, Draco got out of his bed and crawled into Hadrian's, nudging the sleeping boy to the other side, careful not to wake him. They had often done this when they were children; when one of them had nightmares or couldn't sleep they would crawl into the same bed for the night. Draco closed his eyes as he curled up next to Hadrian and basked in the warmth that seemed to radiate from the dark haired boy, reveling in the familiar heat. Draco felt himself slowly relax as he sank into the comfortable mattress, smiling a little when Hadrian's wild curls tickled his nose on the pillow. Finally, when Draco's eyelids became too heavy to lift, Draco drifted off into a dreamless slumber; his last thought that he would never allow himself to be parted from Hadrian, no matter what.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Ok, everybody. Now they're Sorted. Let the Hogwarts year begin! A lot of people wanted Ron and Hermione to be Sorted into different Houses, other than Gryffindor. Sorry 'bout that, guys, but I wanted it this way. You'll see why later. I hope. Anyways, there was that little bit of fluff at the end of the chapter. Tiny spoiler next, _teensy, microscopic sized _spoiler that won't actually impact anything much, but I feel it's my duty to warn you people, so if you don't wanna read it, this is a warning. WARNING. Draco's gonna have a kind of brother complex with Hadrian/Harry. It's going to be really evident, and the ending of this chapter was a sort of an example. More examples will be coming. See? This wasn't really a spoiler at all :P WARNING FINISHED. Don't think I've forgotten the other Slytherin kids. Crabbe and Goyle will actually have speaking parts in this! As always, please review!


	6. The Potions Master

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Walking side by side down the hall. The two that look like twins, but with opposite colors."

"Did you see what they did on the train?"

"Did you hear what they did before the Sorting?"

Whispers followed Draco and Hadrian as they walked together down the hall in the morning to their classes, just as they had done for the past week. Draco smirked at the attention, preening under the constant gazes and the comments. Hadrian grinned at Draco's obvious delight, although he mainly ignored the whispers. His mind was already planning other, bigger things that will cause more than whispers to run around the school.

It was Friday, the last day of the first week of classes. Draco and Hadrian were both bored. The lessons were all stuff they had reviewed and practiced during the summer when they had first gotten their spell books and their wands. The two boys were already way ahead of the curriculum, and were already studying the fifth year material, having breezed through the easy spells and practices of the first four years. They were both at the top of their class; there wasn't anybody who even came near them.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Draco and Hadrian had been taught since they were four by Narcissa all about advanced astronomy and the metaphysics of space from the observatory at the Manor.

Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learnt how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and found out what they were used for. Lucius had made both Hadrian and Draco take care of all the exotic magical plants in the Manor greenhouse since they were seven, as training for when they eventually went to school. Hadrian and Draco had even taken care of several rare specimens in the Manor greenhouse that Professor Sprout hadn't even heard of, and Professor Sprout often consulted Hadrian and Draco on how to better and more efficiently take care of the plants she looked after.

History of Magic was the only class taught by a ghost, Professor Binns. It was easily the most boring class, since Binns droned on while the portion of the class that wasn't sleeping scribbled down names and dates and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. Luckily, Draco and Hadrian had been made to memorize the complete History of Magic since they were five, as a part of their pureblood raising, by a tutor that had often come while they had been growing up. They knew everything Binns was talking about already, and more, since the history texts at the Manor were much more detailed and _interesting _than Binns and the school History of Magic textbook.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. The first years were starting with basic Charms, ones that Hadrian and Draco could do in their sleep. The two boys mainly spent the Charms class fooling around by practicing more advanced Charms and hexing each other and the other students, which Professor Flitwick enthusiastically encouraged, amazed by the skill and power of his two best students.

And then again, Professor McGonagall was different as well. Strict and clever, she impressed her class on the first day by changing her desk into a pig and back again. The class couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After making a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, Hadrian and Draco had managed to turn their match into a needle, a spoon, a fork, a branch, a gold rod, a feather, a chunk of amethyst, and a mini firework, which they set off in class with a small whispered _incendio_ from their wands. Nobody else in the class had been able to make any differences to their matches, except Hermione Granger, who managed to make her match all silver and pointy, but not quite a needle.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he'd told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan of Gryffindor asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather. For another, Ron told Hadrian and Draco that Fred and George swore that the turban was stuffed full of garlic, which explained its funny smell, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. Though everybody else suffered from Quirrell's evident lack of expertise in his class, Draco and Hadrian had already studied all the material over summer, and Hadrian was particularly powerful with the defensive and offensive spells.

Most of the students had absolutely no idea what they were learning, and were struggling with even the simplest spells. Many were also from Muggle families, and hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards before they got their acceptance letters. There was so much to learn at once, all the first years were overloaded with their assignments. Except Draco and Hadrian, who easily completed all their work and practices with ease. They became the first year celebrities, the best in class, the two most powerful and talented students in Hogwarts.

"What have we got today, Drake?" Hadrian asked as he munched on a soft roll he had swiped from the Great Hall. He offered some to Draco, but Draco just shook his head.

"Double Potions with Snape and the Gryffindors," said Draco. "Weasley and Granger will both be there."

"That's great," Hadrian grinned, "But you should really start calling them by their first names. Weasley and Granger sound so distant."

"What shouldn't I be distant?" Draco scoffed. "It's a blood-traitor and a Mudblood we're talking about here."

Hadrian slapped Draco lightly on the shoulder. "Drake! Don't call her a Mudblood. She's the smartest first year, after us. And it doesn't matter if Ron's family likes Muggles and they're friends with Muggle-borns. We're friends with Hermione, aren't we? That makes us blood-traitors as well, in case you haven't noticed."

"_You're _friends with her, not me," Draco grumbled.

"Come off it. You like her company as well. Admit it."

"Well, she's the only one who can be considered _slightly _intelligent out of all the first years besides us, so she's the only one we can have a _slightly _intelligent conversation with, besides each other. That doesn't mean I like her company."

Laughing, Hadrian shoved Draco. "Admit it, you like her as a friend as well. It's not very hard, here; just say Hermione Granger is my friend, just like I did. Okay Drake?"

"Never," Draco shook his head, but he was smiling.

"I'll make you say it!" Hadrian decided, stretching his arm out to grab Draco by the arm.

"Never!" Draco cried, running laughing down the hallway towards their potions class.

Seeing Draco's form quickly getting further away, Hadrian clutched his bag tightly and sprinted after Draco, his robes billowing out behind him. "Hey Draco, wait up! I'll get lost if you go too fast! _You're_ the one who knows where the classroom is, not me!" Hadrian called. He was only answered by a laugh, as Draco ran on even faster.

* * *

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder in the potions classroom than the Slytherin dormitories, but only because the potions ingredients needed a cool place to be stored to prevent their magical properties from deterioration. Severus – Professor Snape – started off the class by taking the register. Hadrian's name was last on the list, as always, since he didn't have a proper last name. Professor Snape paused at his name, before saying it softly as he had done all the previous names.

"Here, Professor," Hadrian called.

Professor Snape looked up, his black gaze piercing into Hadrian's green eyes. Smiling at his godfather, Hadrian gave a little wave, before Snape turned away to continue the lesson.

Ron, who was sitting behind Hadrian and Draco with Hermione, leaned forwards. "Aren't you scared of Snape, Hadrian? You can't tell anything he's thinking. Don't you find that creepy?" Ron whispered.

Hadrian choked back a laugh at Ron's views about Severus. Leaning back and making sure that Professor Snape wasn't watching, Hadrian muttered from the corner of his mouth, "'Course not, Ron. _Professor_ Snape is my godfather. I spend my summers with him, when I'm not at the Manor."

"What?" Ron yelled, almost falling off of the high stool he was sitting on. At once, all eyes turned to look at him, to see who dared to shout during one of Professor Snape's lessons. Ron's ears immediately turned bright red, and he sat down hastily back onto his stool.

"Nice one, Weasley," Draco whispered. Hermione hid a smile.

Professor Snape glared in Ron's direction for a moment, and Ron cowered into his desk, hiding behind Hadrian, who sat in front of him. Looking away, Professor Snape's black eyes roamed over his students. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but every word rang in the absolute silence of the classroom.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Silence followed the speech. Ron made a strangled noise from behind Hadrian, and Hermione sat on the edge of her seat, looking desperate to prove herself as better than a dunderhead. Hadrian and Draco exchanged a grin. They were both well used to Severus' sharp tone, as Severus had often taught them both basic potions in the lab at his house while they had been growing up.

"Longbottom," Professor Snape suddenly called out, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hadrian glanced across the classroom at Neville, who looked completely stumped. Hermione's had had shot up into the air from where she was sitting beside Ron.

"Draught of Living Death," Hadrian mouthed to Neville, hoping that Neville would be able to see it and get it right. Looking around for help and seeing Hadrian's hint, but not understanding, Neville squinted to better see Hadrian's mouth in the semi-darkness of the potions classroom. Hadrian mouthed the answer again.

"Blast of Giving Breath?" Neville asked.

Hadrian clapped both hands over his mouth to silence his laughing, and shook his head to Neville. Ron coughed loudly from behind, while Draco shook with laughter as well from beside Hadrian. Hermione rolled her eyes at the three boys, and continued to wave her hand in the air. Professor Snape's eyes flashed, and his lips curled into a sneer.

"Hadrian, I do not think mouthing the answers to your friend will help much, especially seeing as Longbottom here cannot even get the answer right after you told it to him. Let's try again. Longbottom, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Hadrian dared not to look around to help Neville again, since Professor Snape was looking pointedly at him.

"I don't know, sir," Neville mumbled from across the classroom, sounding utterly miserable.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Longbottom?"

Hadrian saw Neville sink down into his chair, his face red and almost to the point of tears. Professor Snape opened his mouth again, most likely to continue bullying the poor boy. Seeing that his godfather was going a bit overboard with his scolding, Hadrian raised his hand.

Seeing the hand, Severus sighed irritably. "What is it, Hadrian?"

"The correct answer to the result of adding asphodel to wormwood together is a sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death, and a bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat, which has special healing properties and will protect the eater from most poisons. Though this is common knowledge, it is unreasonable to expect a first year on his first week at Hogwarts to know it, Professor." Hadrian stared levelly into Severus' eyes, willing him to understand. From the corner of his eye, Hadrian saw Neville shoot him a deeply grateful look.

Severus sighed again. Looking into those bright green eyes, so sincere and innocent, he couldn't be angry, even though he wanted to. When he looked into those beautiful eyes, he could even pretend that Lily was back with him, somehow, and that it wasn't from James Potter's child's face from which the green eyes looked out. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Severus looked away from the intense green stare, unable to hold the boy's gaze.

"It seems that we have at least one student with rudimentary knowledge in this class," Severus sneered, his black eyes cold as he looked over the rest of the students, "In my class this year, I will make sure that every one of you have these basic facts drilled into your empty brains until they stick. Well? Why aren't you all copying down what Mr. Hadrian just said?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment, and Severus saw from the corner of his eye Hadrian give him a bright smile, before turning to whisper to Draco. Severus scowled. The boy was too much like Lily for his own good. Despite looking exactly like his father, except for the eyes, the boy had inherited every bit of Lily's endless kindness and compassion.

The rest of the class proceeded with a semblance of normality, and Severus made an effort not to look in Hadrian's direction again. He put the class all in pairs – everyone paired with the person they were sitting beside – and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. Severus walked around the classroom in his long black cloak, watching the students weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs.

Hadrian cut up the nettles carefully before giving them to Draco, who poured them into their cauldron, giving the potion three stirs counterclockwise and lifting it off of their fire. Letting it sit for a minute and twenty six seconds and then giving it a final one and a quarter stirs clockwise, Draco and Hadrian were the first ones done, and in record time as well. Grinning at each other, they high fived for a potion well made. Looking around the classroom, Draco and Hadrian saw that their classmates weren't having as much success, most of the students ending up with black, goopy substances in their cauldrons; definite signs of a potion gone bad. The only ones who seemed to be doing it right were Hermione and Ron from the desks behind Draco and Hadrian. Draco leaned over the desk and looked into their cauldron, the blue-purple glow from the potion casting his face in an eerie light.

"You might wanna add an eighth of a pound more of porcupine quills for best effect, Granger," Draco commented.

Hermione looked up with an annoyed expression from where she was intently studying the textbook instructions, her bushy hair looking decidedly frazzled. "No, it _specifically _states that we are to use three and two fifths pounds of porcupine quills in the potion, no more, no less."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Haven't you learned by now that books aren't always correct? Who do you believe more, an old grimy textbook, or me, a pureblood wizard who spent a month in the summer with our very Potions Professor while I was growing up, who sincerely has the hope that you succeed in this class?" Draco asked, his voice dripping with enough sarcasm to burn.

Hermione huffed at Draco's tone. "I would rather believe this _brand new _textbook, thank you very much," she replied, her attention going back to her potion, since Ron wasn't doing much but watching Hermione do all the work, which Hermione seemed to appreciate.

Hadrian leaned over the desk as well. "Hey, you should listen to Drake, Hermione. He's the best at Potions. If he says you should add some whatshisname, then you should do it."

Hermione looked back up, obviously feeling antagonized by the two boys. "Forgive me if I believe the _textbook _to be more accurate than an eleven year old _boy,_ Hadrian."

"Hey, Draco did it for out potion, and look how well it turned out," Hadrian gestured over to their cauldron, where the perfect lilac-colored potion was glowing as it cooled. Draco shot Hermione a look as if to say, _see? We know best._

Hermione stared enviously at the potion, but turned her attention back to her own, which was supposed to have been darkening to lilac, but was stubbornly staying a bluish-purple. Hadrian looked over to Ron, who shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I do? The girl won't listen to anything I say anyways, so what's the point?" Ron asked.

"Well, if you'd had any sort of _talent_ at this, I'd gladly listen, but as it is you'll sooner make our potion turn out like _that," _Hermione pointed over to Blaise and Pansy's potion, which was dark green and bubbling ominously, "than actually do a good job and earn us a good mark, I'd rather you sit back and not harm my chances of doing well in this class."

Ron pointedly looked at Hadrian, proving his point. Hadrian laughed.

"Is there a problem here?" said a cold voice from right behind Hadrian.

Whirling around, Hadrian almost walked into Professor Snape, who had somehow crept up right behind him while he had been talking. Stumbling back a bit, Hadrian gave his Professor a grin. "Hey, Severus. Meet my new friends Ron and Hermione."

Severus looked down with emotionless eyes at his godson. "Hadrian, I would ask that you address me as Professor Snape while in my classroom, and to refrain from interfering in my lessons from now on as you did earlier with Longbottom," Professor Snape snapped.

Hadrian assumed an expression that looked appropriately bashful, although his eyes still shimmered with familiarity. "Yes, Professor," he replied meekly.

Giving a stiff nod, Professor Snape bent and peered down into Hadrian and Draco's cauldron, scrutinizing the potion within for any imperfections. Finding none, Professor Snape straightened and evaluated the two boys who had made the potion. Both demonstrated considerable skill and talent, though Draco also had the proper appreciation for the subtleties of potion making, while Hadrian was more impulsive and experimental. But by working together, their strengths combined perfectly, and Professor Snape knew they would be by far the top students he would have.

His gaze going over to the potion by Hermione and Ron, Professor Snape narrowed his eyes. The potion was still bluish-purple, and contained many imperfections that were obvious to the well-trained eye of the Professor. Sneering down at the bushy haired girl and the garishly red-haired boy, Professor Snape said, "Five points from Gryffindor for such imperfect work, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger."

The girl looked up suddenly, her jaw dropping open. "But Professor," she exclaimed, "I followed everything _perfectly_ from the textbook, and I made sure I had the _exact _amounts that it says in the instructions. How can it be imperfect?"

Professor Snape raised a single eyebrow at her, before looking at the boy. He only shrugged and looked away, refusing to meet the black gaze. "An additional five points will be taken from Gryffindor for failure to properly cooperate as a pair," Snape said, before walking away to criticize another pair.

When Hermione continued to look with disbelief at her potion, Draco leaned towards her again. "Try adding the eighth of a pound of porcupine quills," he whispered.

Hermione threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine, since the Professor thinks the potion _imperfect _already, there's no point in trying to make it better. Can't he even _see _that I followed every instruction _perfectly?_" she grumbled as she measured out the porcupine quills, dumping them unceremoniously into her cauldron.

Immediately, the potion started looking better, gaining a brighter glow and darkening until it was almost the same shade of Draco and Hadrian's potion, only a tiny bit darker and with a hint of blue. Hermione's jaw dropped at the effect. Draco only smirked smugly from next to Hadrian, crossing his arms and shooting her an unmistakable _I told you so_ glance. It was fun to prove that they were smarter than the little know-it-all.

* * *

"I really _can't_ see how you can stand having Snape as your godfather, Hadrian," Ron muttered as they made their way to the Great Hall, laden with a mountain of homework and research for Potions, "He's a _nightmare, _that one. Who in their right minds gives a bunch of eleven-year-olds so much homework for their first weekend at school?"

Hermione just stuck her nose up at the comment. "Oh come off it. To me, I think that this is a great opportunity he has given us to do a little bit of extra researching on the topics we'll be covering this semester."

"A _little_? This is enough work to last _weeks,_ and he's made everything due right after our first _weekend. _And since it's Friday today, that means all of it is due in less than _three days," _Ron grumbled loudly, hitching his bag farther up his shoulder.

"Don't be stupid, Weasley. This is nothing. It'll be done in less than an hour, at the most," Draco scoffed, walking beside Hadrian.

"Says one of the Princes of Slytherin," Ron said under his breath, "You two practically know everything already, there's no point in you coming to Hogwarts in the first place."

"Princes of Slytherin? What?" Hadrian asked, caught off guard from the sudden nickname.

"Really?" Hermione suddenly interjected, "You _must _have heard all the talk going around of you two lately. _Everybody's _been talking about you two."

Draco smirked, barely able to hide his interest. "Oh really? And what exactly are they saying about us?"

Hermione jumped on the chance to tell Draco and Hadrian something they didn't already know, which was a first time for her. "Well, they're all talking about what you did on the train, since everybody saw those pranks you pulled, which, I must add, were magic that is supposed to be _much_ too advanced for you to even attempt yet," Hermione sniffed, "And there are a bunch of rumors going around about what happened before the Sorting. The rumors are spreading like wild, actually, and added to the fact that you two are obviously the most powerful and the best students in the entire first year," Hermione looked a bit sour from openly admitting that Hadrian and Draco were better than her, "You two have attained something of a celebrity status. _Everybody _knows the two Princes of Slytherin."

"The Princes of Slytherin, huh? Wonder who came up with that name?" Hadrian mused.

"Oh, it was just something that caught on," Ron answered. "First it was the Twin Snakes, but that sounded kinda weird, and really creepy as well, so it changed to the Invincible First Years, but then the older kids got angry at that one, and somehow it became the Princes of Slytherin and stuck like that. But that's beside the point. By now, _everyone_ in the school knows of the two first years that look like twins but opposites."

"But why _Princes?_ It's not like we're royalty or anything," Hadrian insisted.

"You guys are so famous you might as well be royalty. You're the two Princes, the opposites, the Ice Prince and the Fire Prince," Hermione said.

"Huh?" Hadrian asked, caught off guard by the new names.

Ron nodded knowingly and cleared his throat loudly, adopting a boisterous, announcement voice, "Ice Prince of Slytherin, pale and fair-haired Draco Malfoy with the famous pureblood name and icy personality, difficult to approach and even more difficult to befriend. And the dark-haired green-eyed Hadrian No-Last-Name, Fire Prince of Slytherin, with his outgoing and cheerful personality that doesn't match the stereotypical Slytherin outlook and his absolutely unknown background, which is shrouded in mystery."

Hadrian laughed at the image of himself that the rumors portrayed. "I'm not nearly as interesting as all those gossips make me out to be," he argued, "And what's wrong with not being a Slytherin stereotype? Slytherin has the worst reputation, so we Slytherins should work to change that, don't you think?"

"That's _exactly _what makes you different, Hadrian," Hermione declared. "You think about things like _changing _the bad image Slytherin has, and _working _towards that goal. Most Slytherins are content to have the bad reputation, and most actually deserve it. None of them want to change it, much less actually work for it to change."

"Ok, ok, you win," Hadrian conceded, holding his hands out in surrender to the girl. "But I like your image, Drake. Difficult to approach and even more difficult to befriend? That's actually pretty accurate."

Draco smiled evilly. "I like my image as well. It'll stop all the foolish and weak-minded ones from trying to talk to me, and save me precious time and energy from not having to tell all of them to go away."

Hadrian elbowed Draco in the ribs. "You know, you can at least make an _effort_ to make new friends."

"Friends are for the weak-willed and unconfident, the ones who need to surround themselves with the idea of support and comfort in order to function at the standard level. _I_ don't need friends."

Hadrian frowned. "Aren't we friends, Drake? Besides, _I _think friends are the best things in the world, other than family. And Ron and Hermione and Blaise, Pansy, Terence, Neville, Fred, and George are all our friends, aren't they?"

Draco shook his head at Hadrian's foolishness. "Of course _we_ aren't _friends,_ Hadrian. We're better than that. We're brothers, companions, comrades, counterparts; twins. We're more than just _friends._ And all the rest of the world are-" Draco looked down his nose to where Ron and Hermione stood, waiting for him to finish his sentence with raised eyebrows. "All the rest of the world are people we are forced to associate ourselves with during the course of our lives."

"You arrogant git," Ron swore, although he was grinning. "You never change, do you? Well, I don't like you very much either, so the feeling's mutual."

Draco deigned to reply with an indifferent nod. "You really do fit your image, Draco," Hermione remarked coolly. "It's really rather accurate, just like Hadrian said. It's rather a wonder that Hadrian spends any time at all with you, what with your nasty personality."

Draco glared at her, forcing his features to remain emotionless to keep her from knowing how much the remark stung. Draco felt a bit better, though, when Hadrian slung an arm over his shoulders and squeezed him with support, saying cheerfully, "And it's rather a wonder that we spend any time at all with _you, _Hermione, seeing as you really are an insufferable know-it-all who doesn't realize when she has gone too far."

Hermione huffed and looked away, but her cheeks were tinged pink. Ron, seeing the conversation head to dangerous waters, quickly brought the conversation back to the original topic. "But you two are so lucky, having such a great reputation already. You two are practically famous. Wish I was half as noticed as you two are," he whined.

Hadrian slapped Ron on the shoulder, keeping his other arm over Draco's shoulders. "Cheer up, mate. You're pretty well known as well, since it was _you _who we turned pink on the train. The students all probably know you by now as well, if they know us."

Ron groaned. "Just my luck, to be stuck known as the boy who was pranked by the two Princes of Slytherin."

"No, Ron, you're also known as the pink lantern boy who glowed in the dark and provided light for your boat when we crossed the lake to Hogwarts," Hermione corrected. Ron only groaned louder.

Draco seemed to suddenly regain life again as the conversation headed to teasing a Weasley. Straightening up, Draco resumed all of his usual haughty disposition. "I actually quite like the name, you know. The Princes of Slytherin. It has an air of refinement," Draco observed.

Hermione shot a glance at Draco. "Yes, it does sound nice," Hermione admitted softly, as an apology for her mean words before.

Draco looked over to her, with Hadrian's arm still around his shoulders as they entered the Great Hall for lunch. "It doesn't only sound _nice, _it sounds regal, royal, and perfectly fits Hadrian and I by distinguishing us above the common rabble," Draco sneered at her, his face showing disgust at her use of such a common word as '_nice'_. Hadrian sighed in exasperation. He supposed that was just Draco's way of accepting an apology.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ok, I know that Hadrian and Draco are getting way too close to the Gryffindors, but don't worry, their fellow Slytherins aren't forgotten! There was a teensy bit of Hermione bashing in this chapter, I know, and I apologize. But really, it's reasonable that Hadrian and Draco would want to rub it in a bit after proving they were smarter than Hermione. I mean, wouldn't you? Updates are generally once a week, on Fridays or Saturdays (unless I forget and do it on Sunday or something). Thanks for the people who put this story on Alert or Favorites. As always, please review!


	7. Insecurity

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Sitting down at the Slytherin table, Draco felt Hadrian's warm arm slip off his shoulders as Hadrian reached over to help himself to some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Draco raised his eyebrows at the choice, while scooping some fresh garden salad with prawns for himself out of a huge bowl that remained almost untouched in the center of the long table. Hadrian looked over as he munched on his sandwich, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"Drake, of all the things you could choose to eat, you want _that?"_ Hadrian asked incredulously.

Draco scowled darkly. "Well, apparently, since I'm not _fit_ to be somebody you hang around with, you might as well go away and sit with somebody else who's food choice better appeals to you."

Hadrian's bright green eyes darkened with confusion, before they suddenly cleared as understanding dawned. "Oh, Drake, you're still thinking about what Hermione said? Forget it, she apologized already, didn't she? She didn't mean it that way."

"Oh yeah? You're too nice for your own good. Why can't you see that she's nothing but a Mudblood who's jealous over us since we get better grades than her? But since I'm not fit to be in your company, you shouldn't even listen to what I have to say."

Draco knew he was whining and making a fool out of himself, but he didn't care. Hermione's remark had stung him way more than he would ever want to admit, partially because it reminded Draco of what Blaise had said to him on their first night at Hogwarts, and also partially because of Draco's own insecurity, as he watched Hadrian make more and more friends at school, while Draco felt as if he was getting left behind.

"Draco-"

But now that the words were out, Draco couldn't stop the flood of feelings that he'd hidden deep inside. "Why should you even listen to what I have to say? Why should you stay with me? You have so many other friends you'll practically be accepted _anywhere_. What do you need me for? You don't even have to be in Slytherin, since you told me the Sorting Hat said you could be anywhere and you had to _ask_ to be Sorted here with me. You're smart, powerful, and you have tons of friends, and you keep on making more every day. What would happen to me if one day you disappeared? What would happen if one day you decided that you didn't want to always be with someone with such a nasty personality as me? I can't change who I am, so what would happen if one day you decided you didn't want to be with me anymore and left me behind? You're not even related to me, so you could just disappear one day and I wouldn't have anything to hold you with."

Draco's pale skin flushed a deep red with embarrassment as he felt hot tears make their way down his face. He hadn't cried since he was six years old, and many people were looking his way, since he had practically shouted out the last part of his speech as he spilled his heart out to Hadrian. Hadrian was looking stunned, his eyes wide with amazement. Realizing exactly just what he was doing, Draco stood up suddenly from the table, his disgusting prawn salad forgotten, since Draco had never liked salads or seafood anyways, and had only gotten the stuff since he had been feeling miserable.

"Forget it," Draco muttered to Hadrian as he stormed out of the Great Hall, feeling the weight of numerous eyes on his back. Draco stumbled his way blindly to the foyer, the tears refusing to stop. He knew the rumors would spread again, and for the first time, Draco felt his fame to be a curse.

* * *

Hadrian glared daggers at anybody who looked at him and seemed would be the type to spread rumors, staring at them until they looked away from his gaze. Blaise, who had been sitting across the table from Hadrian, quietly asked if everything was ok, having heard Draco's entire monologue.

Hadrian nodded quickly. "Hey Blaise, could you do me a favor and keep these kids from saying anything funny about what just happened please? I need to see if Draco's alright."

Blaise nodded in understanding. "Don't worry. I'll make sure no one says a thing. Now go quickly, before he gets away," Blaise urged.

"Thanks, I owe you one, mate," Hadrian grinned before sprinting out of the Great Hall after Draco, his hair and robes flying out behind him.

Hadrian caught up to Draco as he was about to go down the stairs to the Slytherin dormitories. Grabbing Draco by his collar, Hadrian spun Draco around and pinned him to the wall. Draco was still crying, and Hadrian felt completely helpless, not knowing what to do.

Draco evaded Hadrian's eyes. "What do you want?" he mumbled, his voice thick with tears.

Hadrian had never been particularly good at cheering people up when they were crying, since Draco almost _never _cried at all, and so, having no better ideas and still mentally reeling with shock at everything Draco had said, Hadrian did the first thing he could think of and punched Draco. In the face. Hard.

The force snapped Draco's head back into the wall, making a sharp cracking sound as Draco hit his head on the solid stone. Hadrian had hit Draco with a really good shot, on his cheekbone to avoid breaking his nose or causing a black eye, but still hard enough to cause quite a lot of agony. Draco gasped at the sudden pain, both on his face and on the back of his head, black spots going across his vision as he almost passed out from hitting his head so hard against the wall. Draco sagged a bit, his knees going weak, but Hadrian held him by his collar, so he didn't fall to the floor.

"What the hell was that all about?" Hadrian managed to growl out, uncharacteristically swearing.

Draco scowled darkly after he'd recovered a bit from the punch, only to shake off Hadrian's hands at his collar and punch Hadrian right back in the stomach.

Hadrian grunted as the breath was forced out of him, choking slightly. Looking back up and wiping his mouth, Hadrian bared his teeth and launched himself at Draco, tackling him to the ground. "You _idiot," _Draco coughed as Hadrian barreled into him, falling hard on his back. Hadrian tried to pin Draco onto his back, but Draco moved before he was secure, rolling them both so that Draco was now on top, Hadrian pinned underneath Draco's body. Hadrian kicked his legs up and dislodged Draco, rolling them again so he was sitting once again on top of him, his feet pinning Draco's wrists to the ground. Draco struggled against Hadrian, but he had no chance. Hadrian was stronger.

"Draco Malfoy, look at me," Hadrian commanded. Draco refused to meet Hadrian's gaze, until Hadrian grabbed his face and forced Draco to look into his blazing green eyes. "What the _bloody_ hell is wrong with you?"

Draco looked away again, avoiding Hadrian's intense green eyes. "I told you to forget it," Draco muttered.

"Like bloody hell I'll _forget_ it. What brought this on? It's gotta be more than just what Hermione said earlier. Come on, Draco. I've grown up with you. I know that you wouldn't normally do something like this. Heck, you've _never _done something like this."

"So why don't you just leave me and go with your other friends, since I'm just crying pitifully on the ground anyways," Draco shot out, but immediately regretted it when hurt shone in Hadrian's eyes.

Hadrian sighed slowly, lowering his gaze for a second, before moving his grip to Draco's collar and shoving him harder against the ground. "I'm not going _anywhere_, you understand me, Draco?" Hadrian hissed into his face, "It's not like you to worry about stupid stuff like this, when the answer's already so obvious. Remember what you said before? We're brothers, companions, comrades, counterparts; twins. But to me we're more than just that, we're best friends. And nothing will change that. No matter how many other friends _we _have, you'll still be my only best friend. Understand? Nothing will change that. _Nothing._"

"How do you know?" Draco challenged, "How do you know that you won't suddenly change your mind? You can't know that you won't meet someone else who's a better friend than me."

"Draco Lucius Malfoy," Hadrian growled, his boyish voice deep with anger and his emerald eyes radiating intensity, "Your family was the one that took me in when Severus had nowhere to leave me. Your parents were the ones that raised me as their own. You were the one whom I'd always looked to as my brother. Without you, without your parents, I would be nothing. Do you understand?"

"Oh, so you're only staying with me because you feel some sort of debt to my family for raising you?" Draco shouted. He knew he was being completely unreasonable, but he just couldn't stop. Draco sobbed, choking on his own tears, his body shuddering as he lay pinned underneath Hadrian. He had never felt like this before, so helpless and vulnerable. Nobody could ever have made him feel like this. Nobody but Hadrian.

"How can you say that? Draco, you are my best friend. You are the most important person in my life. Severus, Narcissa, Lucius, and you, Draco, are all the family that I've ever known. You are the only family I will ever want or need. Understand, Draco? I love you. You are my brother, my best friend, my family." Hadrian was almost crying as well now, his green eyes glistening with the force of his emotions, his voice shaking with conviction.

When Draco only continued to avoid Hadrian's gaze, Hadrian growled in frustration. "We'll be together forever. That's what you always told me when we were kids, when I was crying since I didn't have any parents and Severus was gone all the time. Nothing will be able to tear us apart. That's what you said. _Remember?_ Were those all _lies_? How could you even _think_ that I would leave you?"

Hadrian shook Draco by the collar with each word he said, his green eyes burning holes in Draco with their sincerity. Draco looked up into the emerald eyes and sighed, lowering his eyes, so that he was looking down at Hadrian's hand gripping the collar of his robes.

"I just don't want you to leave me," Draco whispered softly. Hadrian was everything to him; Hadrian was his whole life. They worked together in perfect harmony; they did everything together. If Hadrian left, Draco would be shattered. He wouldn't know what to do, without the reassuring comfort of the dark haired boy at his side. Draco would be nothing without Hadrian.

Hadrian sighed as well and relaxed his grip on Draco. Pressing his forehead to Draco's, Hadrian said in a much softer voice, "I'm not going anywhere, Drake. We'll be together forever. So don't cry. Please."

They stayed like that for a while, Draco letting the tears flow freely while Hadrian shushed him and smoothed out his hair, which had been ruffled in their fight. Hadrian was patient, muttering softly in Draco's ear as Draco completely lowered all his barriers and cried into Hadrian's shoulder, his tears dampening the black robes. It was the first time Draco had ever so completely showed his weakness to anybody, and Hadrian stayed with him the entire time, showing no indication that he would go away until Draco at calmed down. At last, Draco sniffled, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Giving Hadrian a small smile, he mumbled, "I'm getting way too sentimental, aren't I, Hades? Maybe I should've been Sorted into Hufflepuff after all."

Hadrian grinned. "Well, if you had, then I would've asked that old hat to Sort me into Hufflepuff as well." Standing up from his uncomfortable position on the floor and holding out a hand to Draco, Hadrian smiled brightly. "How about we go back to the Great Hall and finish lunch? And this time you should get something better than a _salad."_

"Maybe I liked that salad, you know," Draco said, sticking his nose into the air.

Hadrian rolled his eyes. "Well, I just won our fight, so loser has to do what winner says."

Draco's smile widened as he took Hadrian's hand, letting the dark haired boy pull him to his feet. Hadrian's hand was warm and solid as it held his own. "No fair, Hades, you _always _win at wrestling."

Hadrian shrugged, tightening his grip on Draco's hand. "Well, _you _always win at potions, so we're even." Hadrian grinned at their well-practiced routine. They said the same things after every fight they had, and somehow, it always became all right in the end.

"Hey, Hades?" Draco asked tentatively as the started making their way back to the Great Hall.

"Hmm?" Hadrian looked back at Draco with concern, his hand still holding on to Draco's.

"You won't tell anyone about this, not even Mother or Father, right?" Draco was nervously fidgeting in place, something he didn't do unless he was really uncomfortable, since he usually maintained his cool composure through even the most embarrassing moments.

"Course not. We're eleven years old, aren't we? It's about time we started keeping secrets from them." Hadrian grinned reassuringly, his black hair tumbling into his eyes, and Draco smiled back, his self-control returning and his face settling back into its usual cool confidence, although he squeezed Hadrian's hand for support. Hadrian squeezed back, and Draco knew how silly he had been, for ever thinking that Hadrian might abandon him.

Suddenly, Draco drew back. "Wait, Hadrian, what about what everyone's going to say? _Everybody _saw me just then."

Hadrian dismissed the question. "It's not like you've ever cared much about what everyone else said. You always call them the _lower class, _remember?"

Draco huffed in annoyance. "Yeah, but what about all the _rumors? _They'll all think I'm some sort of hysterical crybaby now."

Hadrian raised his eyebrows and evaluated Draco. "Trust me, with a personality like _that, _you'll _never _be known as a hysterical crybaby. More like a dangerously insane dragon child."

Hadrian laughed as Draco slapped him on the shoulder, before becoming serious again. "Don't worry, Drake. I asked Blaise to help out with the damage control before I ran out here after you."

Draco relaxed. "Well, it seems that Blaise isn't completely useless, then, after all."

Hadrian mock punched Draco on the shoulder. "Come on, Drake, can we go back now? I'm still _hungry._"

Draco sighed in exasperation at how easily Hadrian could change moods, from serious and comforting to cheerful and hyperactive. Nodding, Draco allowed himself to be dragged back to lunch in the Great Hall, satisfied at last that no matter where Hadrian went or what he did, Hadrian would always return to him.

* * *

First year Slytherins only had Potions with the Gryffindors, so Hadrian and Draco couldn't spend much time with Hermione and Ron, since they were in different Houses. Or at least, they couldn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Slytherin common room which made the rest of the first year Slytherins groan, but made Hadrian smile and poke Draco excitedly. Flying lessons would be starting that day, Thursday – and Slytherin and Gryffindor would be learning together.

"Isn't this great, Drake? We get to start flying with Ron and Hermione!" Hadrian said excitedly.

Blaise overheard, and, coming over, asked Hadrian, "What, are you still hanging around that Weasley kid? What's so special about him, anyways?"

Hadrian frowned. "Blaise, I told you before his name is Ron. And he's my friend, so you _really_ should be polite at least."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "You're too nice, anyone ever tell you that, Hadrian?"

Hadrian grinned. "I get it all the time from Drake. Anyways, we'll be starting flying lessons! Remember when we used to play Quidditch in the springtime together?"

Draco smiled as well. "Yeah, I remember you were always getting hit by the Bludgers, Blaise."

Blaise assumed a defensive position, with his arms crossed in front of him. "That wasn't my fault. Crabbe and Goyle were always hitting the Bludgers to me, since I was a Chaser. Besides, Crabbe and Goyle are nasty with those bats. They couldn't fly very well, but man do they hit hard."

Vincent Crabbe also walked over, joining the conversation. "What? I heard someone say my name."

"We were just talking about how you and Gregory used to play as Beaters when we played Quidditch together in the spring, Vincent," Hadrian told him helpfully.

Crabbe smiled at the memory. "Yeah, Greg and I were great, weren't we?"

"Stop praising yourself, Crabbe. You look ridiculous. Besides, we all know that the most important positions are Keeper and Seeker," Draco said haughtily.

"No way. Chasers are way more important. They're the main point-getters, you know," Blaise contradicted.

Crabbe snorted. "Yeah right. Beaters are definitely the most important. Beaters are the ones that attack the other team, after all. Without Beaters you Chasers wouldn't get a single point."

Draco laughed. "Keepers are the ones that prevent the points from being gotten, which makes them automatically the most prominent out of all the positions. And Seeker is the one who gets those final bonus one hundred and twenty points, and Seekers are the ones who end the game by catching the Snitch. So no matter how many points you Chasers win, the team with the better Seeker and Keeper usually wins. So they are obviously the most important positions. Besides, there is only one Keeper and one Seeker in a team, while there are two Beaters and three Chasers. Right Hadrian?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to Hadrian, waiting for his decision. Hadrian ran his fingers through his messy hair, sheepishly grinning at his friends. "Um, I think that all the positions are equally important, since we have to work together as a team to win. If even one of those positions disappeared, then Quidditch wouldn't be any fun anymore."

Draco rolled his eyes at Hadrian. Blaise grinned. "Nice answer. Neutral ground, eh Hadrian?"

Crabbe deliberated silently for a while. "I agree with Hades," Crabbe suddenly announced, "He's right. If the Beaters, or Chasers, or Keeper, or Seeker disappeared, then Quidditch won't be any fun anymore."

Hadrian smiled and clapped Crabbe on the shoulder. "See? Vince here knows what I'm talking about," he said to Blaise and Draco.

Crabbe grinned at Hadrian, while Blaise shook his head and Draco rolled his eyes again. "Whatever," Draco grumbled, "But Keeper and Seeker are still the only single person positions."

"Hey, I remember that you and Hades were wicked as Keeper and Seeker," Blaise said suddenly, "You _never _let the Quaffle through those hoops, Draco, and Hades was always getting the Snitch before we Chasers could even start trying to score."

Draco grinned smugly. "See? Keeper and Seeker _are _the most prominent positions."

Blaise stuck his tongue out at Draco. Crabbe, remembering their Quidditch games as well, nodded energetically. "Yeah, Draco, I remember as well. You could always block the Quaffle, even if it was shot at the opposite hoop from where you were flying. And Hades _always _got the Snitch in the first half hour. Remember when we all got angry that Hades always ended the games so fast and we had him switch positions with Blaise?"

Blaise gasped in mock horror. "Oh, don't remind me!" he cried, raising up his hands and ducking.

Draco laughed. "Yeah, Crabbe, I remember. Blaise sucked so much as Seeker that the game went on for _hours _until we finally had to give up and let Hadrian find the Snitch again, since we all thought it was lost."

"That was the most humiliating game of Quidditch I've ever played. I will _never _play any position other than Chaser again," Blaise decided, shuddering in horror at the memory of the long hours sitting on his broom and straining his eyes for that elusive glint of gold. "Really, Hadrian, I don't know how you do it. That tiny Snitch is damn near impossible to see, let alone catch."

Hadrian shrugged. "Well, I guess the main thing you need is concentration. It's not really that hard to see the Snitch. It reflects the light a lot, so you just have to look for any flashes of light on the Quidditch field."

Blaise shook his head. "Let's just say that Hadrian is a genius Seeker," Crabbe suggested.

Shaking his head, Hadrian said, "No way. There are plenty of Seekers who are better than me. Besides, if anyone's a genius, it's Draco. He's the best Keeper ever."

Blaise snorted. "Let's just say you two are geniuses at Quidditch, and everything else besides. What else would you expect from the two Princes of Slytherin?" The others nodded in silent agreement.

Draco smiled at that. "Well, of course we would be the best in everything. We're _us, _after all."

Hadrian snorted. "We're not good at _everything, _Drake."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Name one thing we can't do that someone else our age can do better."

Hadrian opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "Uh," he said, running his hands through his hair again as he thought about it, "Well, um-"

"_Exactly,"_ Draco said smugly, "There is nothing we can't do that someone else our age can do better. That makes us the best in everything."

Hadrian huffed. "I still don't agree. There _must_ be someone out in the world better than us. There's always someone better than us somewhere."

Draco rolled his eyes, saying, "Well, it doesn't count if we don't _know _them, so what I said is still true."

Crabbe, feeling suddenly left out of the conversation, said, "Let's go eat breakfast. I want to eat something before we start flying today, since it always makes me hungry."

Blaise snickered. "Everything makes you hungry, Crabbe."

Crabbe frowned; trying to figure out if what Blaise had said was just a statement or an insult. Hadrian grinned at Blaise over Crabbe's frowning face, before slinging an arm over Crabbe's shoulders and leading him out of the common room, changing the topic quickly so that Crabbe wouldn't have to think too hard about Blaise's comment and overuse his brain.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Finally, the Slytherins are coming into the story! Since Draco isn't the gang leader for Crabbe and Goyle anymore, I made them less stupid than they were in the actual books. Cause who wants to read about two stupid oafs who only care about food? Anyways, hope you people liked the kinda sensitive and touchy Draco at the start of the chapter. I did say that Draco was going to have a brother complex about Hadrian, and I enjoy writing Draco and Hadrian fluff. I tried to keep them all as in character as possible though. And from now on, I'm going to start deviating from the storyline more, since I've been following it pretty closely so far. Thanks to everybody who marked this story as a favorite or put it on alert. As always, please review!


	8. Anticipation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Hadrian, Draco, Blaise, and Crabbe entered the Great Hall together. Seeing Ron and Hermione sitting with Neville at the Gryffindor table, Hadrian waved Blaise and Crabbe over to the Slytherin table as he dragged Draco over to where Ron and Hermione were.

"Hades, we're not _supposed _to sit at that table. It's for the _Gryffindors," _Draco whined loudly.

Hadrian completely ignored Draco as he made his way over to where their friends sat. Sliding easily into the seat next to Hermione, while Draco took the seat next to Ron, with Neville on Ron's other side, Hadrian asked, "So, did you guys see that notice posted today about out flying lessons?"

Hermione looked up with a half-frantic expression. "Did we _see it? _Of course we _saw_ _it_. Who wouldn't have seen it? I've been studying all _morning_ from this book I borrowed from the library, _Quidditch through the Ages_. It contains all of the flying tips that I'll need, including some personal advice from some of the most famous Quidditch players in history. Did you know that the correct shape in a broom handle could increase your average speed by three percent when the wind is blowing with a bearing of 37 degrees North?"

Hadrian laughed out loud, Draco joining in. Ron smiled as well, while Neville looked as if he was hanging on to Hermione's every word.

"Oh, and did you know that-" Hermione began again, but was interrupted when Ron sighed loudly, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"And _I've_ been forced to listen to her _tips_ for the better part of this morning. I've tried to tell her that those tips don't actually work, but she won't listen to me at _all_," Ron cried.

"Nonsense, Ronald. These tips are from professional Quidditch players, and I guarantee you that they absolutely _do _work," Hermione huffed.

"Well, the correct shape of your broom handle isn't going to make sure you stay on your broom, you know," Draco told her.

"Do _you_ know how to ride a broom?" Neville asked wonderingly.

Draco raised his eyebrows at the chubby little boy, before Hadrian answered for him, "Of course we know how to ride a broom, Neville. Drake and I have been riding brooms since we were, what, six years old?"

Draco nodded. "We both got a Cleansweep for our sixth birthdays. Been riding ever since."

"Whoa," Neville whispered, admiration in his eyes.

"Most pureblood kids learn how to ride brooms from when they're young," Ron agreed, "There was a time when I'd almost hit a hang-glider on my brother Charlie's old broom."

Neville looked glum. "I've never been on a broomstick in my life, even though I'm a pureblood as well," he said, "Gran had never let me near one."

"Well, today's your day to try, then," Hadrian encouraged.

"Hey, what are you Slytherins doing at our table?" yelled a boy from a bit further down the seats.

Hadrian and Draco looked over to the speaker. It was a boy with sandy hair, and bright blue eyes. "No Slytherins are allowed here, this table's for the Gryffindors," he continued.

Draco looked pointedly at Hadrian. "I told you this wasn't a good idea, Hades. These stupid Gryffindors have issues with us."

"Hey! _We're _Gryffindors as well, you know," Ron exclaimed angrily, gesturing to himself, Neville, and Hermione.

Hadrian frowned and moved over to sit by the sandy haired boy. Holding out a hand, he said cheerfully, "Hey there. My name's Hadrian. First year. Nice ta meet ya."

The boy looked twice at Hadrian, evaluating him and staring at his raven hair and bright green eyes. "So you're the Fire Prince, eh? You're not what I expected."

"Didn't you hear those rumors? I'm a bit of an unorthodox Slytherin," Hadrian said, grinning sheepishly.

The boy looked suspiciously at Hadrian for a bit more, before taking Hadrian's offered hand. "Name's Seamus. Seamus Finnigan. First year as well."

Hadrian smiled. "That's great. We're in the same year, so we'll be having our flying lessons together today. Drake and I," Hadrian stuck a thumb out behind him to indicate Draco, "We were just talking with Ron, Hermione, and Neville about some tips when flying. Wanna join us?"

Seamus looked behind Hadrian to where Hermione was sitting, still reading _Quidditch Through the Ages,_ with Ron chatting with Neville and Draco looking completely bored. "Sure, why not," Seamus agreed, "I've got nothing better to do. Besides, you seem alright. For a Slytherin."

Seamus and Hadrian rejoined the group, with Hadrian taking his former place beside Hermione, and Seamus sitting down on Hermione's opposite side, across from Neville. "So what'cha reading'?" Seamus asked Hermione.

Hermione lifted her head, her eyes narrowing as she beheld her new prey. "Well, this is a book I got from the library, _Quidditch Through the Ages._ It contains absolutely _fascinating _facts about flying, and tips and advice from real professional Quidditch players. Did you know that-"

Ron and Hadrian laughed at Seamus' blank expression, and even Draco managed to grin. "You've unleashed the bookworm, Seamus! Quick, everybody, duck!" Ron yelled, hiding behind his towering plate of food.

Hermione glared at Ron. "You know, I've been _trying _to study and help you guys get ready, but obviously nobody wants my help."

"Those facts aren't gonna let you stay on your broom, Hermione," Seamus said.

"That's exactly what I told her," Draco agreed. Looking over at Seamus, Draco raised his eyebrows. "And you are?"

Seamus held out a hand. "Seamus Finnigan. I already know who you are, the Ice Prince of Slytherin, Draco Malfoy."

Draco just stared disapprovingly at Seamus' offered hand. "Yes, everybody knows who I am," Draco agreed disdainfully.

Hadrian looked at Seamus over Hermione's head of bushy hair, which was bent intently over her book. "Don't mind Draco, Seamus. He's actually happy to meet you, only a bit too shy to say it."

"Who's too shy to say what, Hades?" Draco yelled, leaning over the table to slap Hadrian on the head. Hadrian ducked the blow, laughing.

"Drake's actually really happy to have made a new friend," Hadrian said to Seamus, who was looking at them in astonishment.

"You two really are like all the rumors say," Seamus breathed in surprise, "Complete opposites, yet closer than brothers."

Hadrian rolled his eyes at what the rumors were saying, and Draco smirked in satisfaction at a sign that his fame had spread yet again.

"Hey, you should see them when they prank someone. Their positions are like reflections of each other, since Hades is left-handed and Draco's right-handed," Ron said to Seamus and Neville, who had been listening to the conversation silently.

"Do you speak from personal experience, Ron?" Seamus asked, grinning.

Ron flushed, and threw a piece of his toast at Seamus, who ducked. "Seamus, I'll get you for that," Ron swore.

Suddenly, Hermione lifted her head. "Boys, stop throwing food around. The mail is coming, and you won't want the owls to be flocking over here because they think there's free treats to be had."

They all looked up to the ceiling, where hundreds of owls were swooping in to drop of parcels at the four tables. Two owls in particular were headed towards their little group at the Gryffindor table.

"Hey, whose owls are those?" Neville asked.

"Those are ours," Draco told him, his hands reaching up to catch the parcel that his eagle owl dropped into his hands, before coming to a rest on the back of his chair.

"Parcels? Were we supposed to be receiving anything, Drake?" Hadrian asked as he caught his own package and raised his arm, letting his snowy owl land on his wrist.

"Those owls are _awesome," _Ron gasped. "Those are really _yours?"_

"Yeah. Mother and Father got them for us as a gift for our first year at Hogwarts," Draco said nonchalantly, opening his package.

"What are their names?" Neville asked excitedly, his hands going out as if to pet Draco's eagle owl, but withdrawing his hand quickly when the owl aimed a vicious peck at his fingers.

"Mine is named Sabor. He's an eagle owl, and he bites, by the way," Draco informed him.

"Say that earlier, Draco. Your owl nearly bit Neville's hand off," Seamus said.

"What's the name of yours, Hadrian?" Neville asked, this time keeping his hands well away from the large snowy owl.

Hadrian smiled at Neville. "Her name is Hedwig. You can pet her, if you want. She's not nearly as vicious as Sabor."

Neville tentatively stretched his fingers out, and Hadrian lifted Hedwig, who was still on his wrist, up to meet Neville's fingers. Hedwig hooted softly in annoyance when Neville almost poked her eye out, but kept still as the boy ran his fingers through her feathers. "She's beautiful," Neville whispered, looking as if Christmas had come early for him.

"I'm glad you like her," Hadrian said, bringing Hedwig back and smoothing out the feathers that Neville had rumpled. "That's a good girl," Hadrian cooed to her, giving her a generous slice of bacon.

Hedwig snapped up the treat eagerly, before hopping onto the back of Hadrian's chair. Sabor looked on enviously from his perch on the back of Draco's chair, where Draco was completely ignoring him as he tore open the wrapping of his package. "Drake, give Sabor something to eat. The food in the Owlery must be horrible enough as it is," Hadrian said.

Draco rolled his eyes. "They'll get fat if you feed them treats all the time, Hades. Just open your package and stop fussing with Hedwig."

Hadrian stuck his tongue out. "No," he said stubbornly, snapping his fingers at Sabor and holding his wrist out.

Sabor hopped happily onto Hadrian's wrist, shuffling his wings in anticipation. Holding up another slice of bacon, Hadrian laughed as Sabor pecked at it for a while before swallowing it. "He's picky, isn't he? Just like you, Draco." Hadrian held out a hand to stroke the bird.

"Hey Hades, he bites, remember?" Ron said suddenly.

Hadrian ignored Ron and stroked the bird's beautiful tawny feathers, Sabor meek and docile under his hands. "There. You're happy, aren't you, now that you've gotten some yummy food in your tummy," Hadrian said happily to the bird.

Draco looked up. "Hey, he likes you, Hades. That's the first person he's let touch him, other than me."

Hadrian smiled brightly. "I told you that he wanted some food as well, Drake. He's a perfectly nice bird, just like Hedwig. Right, Hedwig?" Hadrian asked, looking up to the owl perched on the back of his chair.

Hedwig pecked softly at Hadrian's messy hair in response. "See?" Hadrian laughed.

"Hey, do you think that owl will let other people touch him now that he's fed?" asked Seamus.

Hadrian shrugged. "Can he try, Draco?" Hadrian asked, looking over at him.

Draco made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat. When Hadrian aimed pleading green eyes at him though, Draco sighed loudly. "Whatever. Do what you want," Draco grumbled, although he secretly wanted to see the results of the experiment as well.

Seamus stood up and stretched out his fingers, but before he could get within an inch of the eagle owl, Sabor screeched angrily and flapped his wings, aiming his beak at the soft flesh of Seamus' hand. Snatching his hands back, Seamus tumbled back into his seat. "Nope, that owl's still a mighty piece of work," Seamus announced.

"Good job, Sabor," Draco congratulated. Sabor hooted in agreement.

"Well, I guess he just likes me," Hadrian decided, calming Sabor down with a few soft words and gentle strokes.

"Everyone likes you, Hades," Neville decided.

Hadrian smiled brightly at Neville. "Well, thanks, I guess. Though I'm sure that I'm no different from everyone else."

Letting Sabor fly back to the back of Draco's chair, Hadrian began to open the package that he had received. Draco had already finished unwrapping the first layer, and was reading the letter that had come with the box.

Hadrian quickly got his own letter out. Flipping it open, he read in Narcissa Malfoy's neat, elegant writing,

_Hadrian, _

_I'm hearing great things of you and Draco. Severus updates me weekly about your progress. Know that Lucius and I are very proud of you and Draco for being Sorted into Slytherin and being the best in all your classes. Severus has even told us that you two have managed to gain quite a reputation, being the two Princes of Slytherin. I've sent some sweets to both you and Draco to celebrate you doing so well at school. Share them with your friends, and remember to brush your teeth at night. _

_Please remember to send some letters to Lucius and I, we would dearly love to know about the happenings from our own sons, instead of getting updates from Severus all the time. Make sure you comb your hair every morning, Hadrian, and don't forget to eat lots of vegetables. I know you don't like greens, but they are healthy for you and would keep your energy up. You'll need the energy boost, what with all the adventures you and Draco are having at school. Remember to be polite, and act as you should as a part of the Malfoy pureblood line. _

_We'll see you two at Christmas. If you two are extra good, Lucius says that you two will even get to invite some friends over to celebrate the holidays._

_With all our love, _

_Your parents._

Hadrian looked back up to Draco, glowing with happiness at the affectionate letter. Between Severus, Narcissa, and Lucius, Hadrian knew that he could ask for no better family. Draco had finished his letter as well. "Hey, Hades. Switch."

Draco handed his letter over to Hadrian, and Hadrian gave his over to Draco. Looking down at Draco's letter, Hadrian saw that it was almost the same as his own, except there were less reminders about brushing teeth and combing hair and eating vegetables.

"Looks like Mother worries about you more, Hades," Draco said with a grin.

Hadrian waved away the comment. "Well, you're the more responsible one, after all," he said, rolling his eyes.

"And you're the one with the bird nest hair," Draco added.

"I can't help it. My hair's just naturally messy. Just like yours is somehow naturally perfect all the time."

Draco smirked and gave Hadrian's letter back, taking his own. "We should owl Mother and Father this weekend. I can't believe that we've forgotten. It's been almost two weeks since school started."

"Yeah, we should. This weekend, definitely," Hadrian agreed.

"What's in the boxes?" Ron asked from beside Draco, peering intently at the large white boxes that both boys had gotten.

"Sweets, apparently," Hadrian said, carefully putting his letter into his bag and opening his box. Draco did the same.

"Oh my god," Ron yelled when the boxes were open. The two boxes seemed to be filled with half of Honeydukes, containing everything from Acid Pops to Wizochoc. "Your parents sent you all _that? _How on Earth do they expect you to eat everything?"

"I suppose it's just a little something to express their pride in their two extraordinary sons," Draco said gloatingly.

"And they told us to share with our friends. Would you like some?" Hadrian asked politely, pushing his own box slightly over the table so Ron could reach.

"Would I like some? Of course," Ron said enthusiastically, immediately grabbing a handful of chocolate frogs. "This is _awesome_. Thanks, Hades."

Neville took a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, while Seamus took a couple of Fizzing Whizbees. "Hermione, would you like some?" Hadrian asked, when Hermione just continued reading her book.

Looking up, Hermione eyed the candy almost brimming out of the box that Hadrian held out to her. "Don't bother, Hades," Draco said, "She'll probably say something about how the amount of glucose isn't good for you or something."

Seeing that Hermione was about to argue again with Draco, Hadrian quickly interjected by shoving some sweets into her mouth. "Oomph," Hermione said, her mouth full and trying to keep the handful of candy Hadrian had put into her mouth from dropping out. Draco and Ron snickered, while Seamus gave Hadrian a high five for a job well done and Neville hid a small smile behind his hand.

"I know something you'll like, Hermione," Hadrian said in response to the glare that Hermione sent him, her hand over her mouth. Digging around for a while, Hadrian held up what looked like a normal, goose feather quill. "This is a Sugar Quill, Hermione, and you can suck on it in class without the teacher even guessing that you might be eating candy. It works just like a real quill as well. You can even write with it. It fits you, doesn't it?"

Hermione, having swallowed the candy that Hadrian had put into her mouth, snatched the quill out of his hands. Examining it closely, Hermione took out some ink and parchment. Dipping the end of the sugar quill into the ink, she experimented with writing on the parchment. "See? It works just like a real quill, doesn't it, Hermione?" Hadrian asked.

"I'll have to admit that it's useful," Hermione said grudgingly.

"Now try and taste it. It's made of spun sugar," Ron told her.

Hermione tentatively gave the quill a small lick. Her eyes brightening, she licked it again. "It tastes just like cotton candy," she exclaimed happily, "I used to love cotton candy when I was small."

"What's cotton candy?" Draco asked curiously.

Hermione suddenly stopped and looked at the boys around her. "Don't any of you know what cotton candy is?" she asked incredulously. Hadrian shook his head, giving her an apologetic smile. Draco raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. Ron shook his head as well. Neville shook his head and looked away. Seamus shrugged, not knowing either.

"Oh, I know!" Ron said suddenly, holding his hands up and commanding the attention, "It's a Muggle food, isn't it?"

"Ohhh," Hadrian, Draco, Neville, and Seamus said in unison, finally understanding. "That's why we don't know about it. Who'd want to eat Muggle food?" Draco said with a nod.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but continued to lick her quill. "But this is really good. Thanks, Hadrian," she said, raising the quill and giving Hadrian a small smile.

Hadrian grinned back. "No problem. You'll have to get us some of this Muggle 'cotton candy' some time."

* * *

The day's morning classes were agonizingly slow. Hadrian kept on thinking about the flying lessons that were to take place in the afternoon, so much so that Draco had to constantly remind him every five minutes to stay still and focus on the class. Hadrian was so filled with anticipation and excitement that his very magic gained a semi-corporeal form, darting about the classrooms and ruffling papers and hair. The teachers were astounded at the sheer power display from just a first year student, while the other students laughed as Hadrian's excited magic tickled their faces and breezed through their hair. Hadrian, who usually tried to keep his sometimes wild magic under a tight control, let it play around the classrooms just for that day, while his thoughts were filled with how sluggishly the minute hand moved around the face of the clocks in the classrooms, waiting for the time when they would finally be released to lunch.

At last, the final bell before lunchtime chimed and Hadrian shot to his feet, interrupting Professor Binns during his long monologue about the Goblin Revolution. "Sorry, Professor," Hadrian said, breathless with excitement, "It's lunchtime now. May we go?" Some of the students who had previously been sleeping during the lesson awakened at the chiming of the bells, and began to blearily put their books back. Draco saw Blaise yawning widely two tables over from where he sat with Hadrian, not even bothering to disguise the fact that he had been asleep.

Binns' ghostly form drifted slowly over to peer at the mantle clock situated above the classroom's fireplace. "Why, yes, Mr. Hadrian, I do believe you're right." Binns' droning voice intoned the words slowly, his tone of voice so monotonous that many students yawned again. "Very well, you may go-"

"Thanks, Professor," Hadrian said quickly, interrupting Professor Binns before he could continue in his long-winded speeches again. Grabbing all of his books and shoving them into his bag, Hadrian took Draco's arm and nearly dragged him out of the classroom in his haste, Draco still trying to put the rest of his books into his bag.

"Don't forget the homework Mr. Hadrian, Mr. Draco," Binns rasped after them.

"All right, Professor," Hadrian called back, not slowing down at all.

"Hades, let _go. _I'm gonna drop my books," Draco said, as they were halfway to the Great Hall and Hadrian was still dragging Draco along behind him.

"Oops, sorry 'bout that, Drake. Here," Hadrian took several books from Draco, holding them while Draco put the rest in his bag, and then giving them back. "Can you believe it? Flying lessons start right after lunch!"

Draco rolled his eyes, but grinned at the green eyes shining with excitement. "Yes, I can believe it. You're the one who's been telling me over and over every ten minutes for the whole morning, you know."

Hadrian slapped Draco on the shoulder. "You know what I mean. This is gonna be great. I can't wait to start flying again. We haven't flown together since before school started."

"Hadrian, that was only two weeks ago, you know," Draco said, but he knew what Hadrian was saying. He himself also felt the same excitement to be up in the air again, to feel the absolute freedom of having nothing around you but the air in your face and your broom in your hands. To hear the wind whipping past your ears while zooming across the sky. After all, there was nothing in the world quite like flying.

"Two weeks is too long to go without flying, in my opinion," Hadrian said, crossing his arms and slowing his pace to a more ordinary speed to match Draco's.

Draco snorted. "You were practically made to fly, Hades. Nobody's as good a flier as you."

Hadrian frowned, saying, "That's not true, Drake. You're plenty good as Keeper-"

"As Keeper, yes," Draco agreed, "But the only thing Keeper does is hover around the goal hoops, preventing the other team from scoring by hitting the Quaffle away. It's Seeker that needs to be the best flier to catch the Snitch, and Hades, you've got it down to the letter."

Hadrian grinned. "Well, thanks, Drake. But I still can't wait for the lessons to start. Lunch always takes too long."

"That's not what you were saying yesterday, while you were busy eating all the chicken nuggets you could steal from Blaise," Draco reminded.

Hadrian smiled. "I'll race you to the Great Hall, Drake."

Draco sighed at Hadrian, though a smirk spread across his features. "On three," Draco decided. "One."

"Three." Hadrian took off down the hallway, heading down the moving staircases towards the sounds of lunch underway in the Great Hall. Draco laughed and chased after his brother, the portraits watching the two boys as they sped by.

* * *

Hadrian and Draco spent lunch at the Slytherin table, after saying hello to Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Seamus at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was still studying her Quidditch book, while Ron and Seamus compared their flying experiences, with Neville listening enviously to their tales of speeding across the countryside.

"You guys gonna try out for the Quidditch team this weekend?" Blaise asked Hadrian and Draco from across the table while munching on some crisps.

"Definitely," Hadrian agreed. Draco smirked and nodded as well.

"Aren't first years not allowed to join the team?" asked Pansy Parkinson from beside Blaise.

"Who cares," Draco scoffed, "If we're better than the other players, they'll have to let us on. What do you care, anyways?"

Hadrian smiled at her while viciously elbowing Draco in the ribs for being so rude. "What Drake means, Pansy, is that we'll try our best to get on the team. Would you like to come watch us during tryouts?" Hadrian asked, directing his question to both Pansy and Blaise.

Blaise grinned. "Sure. Heck, if you guys are trying out, I might try out too, for Chaser. You never know, I might just get lucky."

"You're right. And if Crabbe and Goyle try out for Beaters, and Pansy, if you try out as Chaser as well, then we might have the same team that we always used to play in when we were little," Hadrian said excitedly.

Pansy giggled. "You're still remembering those times, Hadrian?"

"Of course. This guy's brain is filled with nothing but Quidditch," Draco said teasingly, messing up Hadrian's hair with his hand.

"Hey, Drake! You're the one who always complains that my hair is too messy!" Hadrian said, batting the hand away, laughing.

"Well, we'll come watch, for sure," Pansy decided, smiling at Hadrian and Draco. "After all, if the two Slytherin Princes make it on the Quidditch team in first year, the whole school will know about it, and I'd rather be one of the first to congratulate you guys."

"Hey! What about me?" Blaise asked.

Pansy raised her eyebrows at Blaise, before smirking. "Well, let's just say I wish you good luck in the tryouts."

Draco and Hadrian snorted with laughter as Blaise scowled, sullenly shoving more crisps in his mouth. "Don't worry, Blaise," Hadrian said encouragingly, "I'm sure you'll do great. But I'd watch out, if I were you. Terence says that the Slytherin Quidditch Captain Marcus Flint also plays Chaser, and he's one nasty player."

Blaise smiled at the advice. "Thanks Hades. Glad to know _somebody _supports me." Blaise shot a dark look at Pansy.

She laughed. "Blaise, I support you, don't worry. I'll be there for you when Marcus Flint knocks you off your broom."

Hadrian and Draco laughed with Pansy as Blaise returned to munching his crisps, though a grin lingered at the edges of Blaise's features, so his friends knew that he wasn't actually that angry.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ok, I know that there doesn't seem to be any point to this chapter, and I was actually going to cut it out, but the story just didn't feel right without it. Here's the chapter, and I promise the next chapter will be the flying lessons. Finally. Although this chapter is pretty much useless, I just wanted to show in this chapter that Hadrian and Draco aren't just confined to being 'Slytherin', and the best way to do that was to make them sit at a different table (Even though it's against Hogwarts rules). Hope you guys caught onto that, or at least noticed it. Thanks to everyone who's following this story. As always, please review!


	9. Conflict

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

At three thirty that afternoon, Hadrian and Draco were one of the first Slytherin first years to get assembled on the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet as they lined up on a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. Hadrian bounced in place with anticipation while Draco stood coolly at his side. The Slytherins were waiting for the Gryffindors to arrive, so that they could start their lesson.

"Gryffindors. Always think they're so important that they can be late whenever they want, huh?" Millicent Bulstrode growled out from where she was standing with Pansy. Millicent was black-haired and had a heavy, jutting jaw. She had a large, square build that allowed her to physically intimidate smaller people, and she was descended from the pureblood Bulstrode line, which was one of the lesser-known pureblood families.

"Really. And everybody thinks that those Gryffindors are so great all the time. They can't even be on time for class," Gregory Goyle agreed. He was standing right beside Crabbe, as always.

Hadrian shrugged. "Well, there's still five more minutes until class really starts, so they're not technically late yet, you know," he remarked idly.

"Technicalities," Blaise dismissed with a wave of his hand, "Besides, Hades, we all know that you're too soft. You're too nice to everybody. If we didn't know better, we'd think you were a Hufflepuff."

Hadrian snorted. "Too soft, eh, Blaise? I'll show you who's too soft. You'll have to watch your back from now on, or else I'll hex you when you aren't looking!" Laughing, Hadrian chased Blaise around the twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground in preparation for their lesson.

"Hey, here come the Gryffindors," Crabbe announced, pointing to where a line of black robed students were hurrying down the front steps to the grounds for their first flying lesson.

"About time, too," muttered Goyle.

Hadrian stopped chasing Blaise around the broomsticks and waved over to where he could spy Ron's distinctive red hair bobbing amidst the group of students. Hermione's telltale bushy hair was right beside him, and Neville's pale face was seen some ways away. Seamus was talking excitedly with a dark haired dark skinned boy in the group.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, also arrived. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

The Slytherins had already arranged themselves in a neat lineup, so they watched the Gryffindors as they scrambled around to find their places by a broom. The broomsticks were arranged in two lines, and the Slytherins stood facing the Gryffindors. Ron was standing across from Hadrian, and Hadrian gave him a grin and thumbs up. Ron gave a little wave.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch from the front of the lines, "And say, 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Hadrian and Draco's brooms both immediately jumped up into their hands, and they grinned at each other. Calling their brooms up was a skill perfected long ago by both of them.

Not everyone else was as lucky. Hadrian and Draco's brooms were two out of only a few that obeyed. Hermione's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Blaise was able to call his up, but Pansy's somehow seemed as if it couldn't decide whether to go to her hand or stay on the ground, and ended up hovering in the air somewhere in between.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows, correcting their grips. Hadrian and Draco high-fived each other when they were the only two students who Madam Hooch deemed to have adequate grips on the broom handles.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle – Three – Two – One."

At the shrill sound of the whistle blowing, everyone kicked off the ground and hovered. One of the girls from Gryffindor lost her grip, though, and fell to the ground with a small thump and a muffled _oof._ Everybody else seemed to do fine, and even Hermione was able to stay on her broom, muttering tips she had gotten from _Quidditch Through the Ages_ to herself under her breath.

"Good. Now, lean forwards and set down gently on the ground," Madam Hooch ordered, blowing her whistle again.

Everybody tipped forwards slightly, angling their brooms down and landing gently. But Neville, nervous and shaky on his broomstick, somehow ended up tumbling back on his broom, causing the handle to tip up straight into the air.

"Come back, boy," Madam Hooch shouted urgently when she saw what was happening, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. Hadrian looked up and saw Neville's scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp in fear, slip sideways off the broom and tumble back down to the ground.

Luckily, a statue standing on top of the castle walls caught Neville's robes with its spear. Neville hung from the wall, nothing below his feet but a thirty-foot drop towards hard, unforgiving ground. The class watched in stunned silence as a loud tearing noise sounded out, and Neville dropped a couple of inches. Everybody could clearly see the rip in Neville's robes, getting wider with each passing second.

"Drake, let's go," Hadrian said suddenly, quickly mounting his broom. Draco looked over and immediately knew what Hadrian meant. Nodding in understanding, Draco mounted as well and they both kicked off together from the ground, speeding as fast as they could towards where Neville hung.

"Boys, get back here. I forbid you to fly up as well," Madam Hooch shouted after them, but they were already zooming away.

Neville's robes finally gave out, and he was falling. Falling at a breakneck pace towards the ground, Neville screamed, tears pouring out of his eyes. Draco knew with absolute certainty that they wouldn't be able to make it, and he watched as Neville dropped to the ground.

Hadrian, seeing Neville fall, aimed himself in a steep dive, hurtling straight downwards to the rocky ground. "Hadrian, stop," Draco gasped, when he saw his brother go into a dive that could only be called suicidal. "You won't make it," Draco shouted after Hadrian's retreating figure.

Hadrian reached out his hand, straining as far as his reach would allow. Neville saw and also reached towards Hadrian, the ground drawing closer at a frightening pace. Hadrian knew that he would never be able to reach Neville's hand, so he grabbed desperately at the part of Neville that was closest to him. Which happened to be his leg.

Securing his grip, Hadrian immediately heaved his broom handle upwards, drawing out of his steep dive and gaining height once more. Neville, who was held onto by his leg, ended up dangling upside down, his hair just brushing the ground below before he shot into the air again. Neville had been less than an inch from death before Hadrian had grabbed him.

"Draco, catch," Hadrian shouted breathlessly before flinging Neville into the air in Draco's direction, his arm numb from the sudden strain of supporting Neville's entire weight. Neville screamed as Hadrian let go of him, feeling weightless as Hadrian's upward momentum on his broom carried Neville high up into the air once more in an arc. Draco was there, though, so Neville didn't fall again. Draco grabbed Neville by his leg, the sudden added weight making his broom lose altitude.

"Hadrian, support," Draco called out quickly, seeing that his broom was about to give out.

Hadrian was already there. Grabbing Neville's other leg with the arm that wasn't numb, the two boys held Neville upside down between them, sharing Neville's weight between the two brooms. They worked in perfect harmony as they slowly drifted back to where their class stood on the ground, cheering loudly at the sight.

"Never do that again, Hadrian," Draco said shakily, "You could've _died _just now."

Hadrian grinned. "Well, it's a good thing everything turned out ok, then. You alright there, Neville?" Hadrian called down, to where Neville was hanging suspended between the two brooms.

"Doing great, Hades. Thanks," Neville shouted back, giving Hadrian a thumb up, although his voice shook from his recent brush with death and his face was bright red from having all the blood rush down to his head by hanging upside down.

Hadrian laughed and Draco allowed himself a small smile, although his heart was still beating frantically from the sight of Hadrian hurtling down to the ground. Though he admired Hadrian's bravery, it didn't mean Draco hadn't been scared to death when he saw his brother almost crash into the ground. Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone.

Draco and Hadrian gently set Neville down on the ground before landing their brooms. As soon as they were both safely off their broomsticks, their classmates, both Slytherins and Gryffindors alike, crowded around them, cheering and clapping.

"That was bloody amazing, Hades, Draco," Millicent shouted into their faces, clapping them both on the shoulder.

"That was some great flying there, guys," Blaise congratulated, smiling. Draco smirked and raised his nose into the air, reveling from the attention.

"Good job, Hadrian," Pansy said shyly from next to him. Hadrian grinned at her.

"Do you _know _how many rules you broke just now, boys?" Hermione said angrily, her bushy hair blowing everywhere in the slight wind that had sprung up, "Madam Hooch _explicitly _told us to land after hovering. Neville, what were you _thinking?" _she shouted, rounding on Neville, who was also surrounded by cheers and clapping students.

"Never saw better flying in me life," Seamus declared, his Irish accent apparent as he stood grinning broadly at the two Princes.

"Everybody, quiet," Madam Hooch's strict voice called out sharply from the edge of the group. The class immediately fell silent, the students opening a path through the crowd for Madam Hooch to get to where Hadrian, Draco, and Neville stood in the middle.

Madam Hooch eyed the three boys furiously, her hands on her hips and her yellow eyes intense. "What in the name of flying do you think you were doing?" she asked the three of them.

Neville cowered before the professor, who was eyeing him with extreme disapproval. Draco sniffed haughtily and met her yellow gaze with his own grey eyes, his expression steady and emotionless. Hadrian rolled his eyes. It seemed as if the task of answering was up to him.

"Professor, Drake and I saw Neville about to fall, so we caught him before he could hit the ground. That's what we were doing," Hadrian said innocently, though his tone held an edge of steel.

Madam Hooch eyed the boy before her. All the professors had told her already about the two Slytherin boys who excelled in all their classes. The one who had just spoken was the dark haired green eyed one, and the other one, the fair haired grey eyed one, was standing protectively just over the dark haired boy's shoulder. Madam Hooch narrowed her eyes when her gaze slipped over towards the chubby brown haired boy from Gryffindor, the one who had caused the whole incident. The two Slytherin kids were shielding him with their bodies, so she hadn't seen him at first.

"You," she barked out at Neville, "Explain yourself."

Neville visibly cringed as Madam Hooch's attention focused on him. "Uh, I ah, d-don't know how t-to fly, so I was r-really nervous and somehow my b-broom suddenly went up," Neville began, his voice wavering and stuttering so much that he was barely coherent. Madam Hooch eyed him with displeasure.

"You're lucky that these two boys were able to get you before you fell, young man," she said, interrupting Neville through his explanation. Neville nodded, lowering his head to stare at the ground.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for this boy's failure to follow instructions in class," Madam Hooch proclaimed. Groans and grumbling was immediately heard from all the Gryffindors, while the Slytherins smirked at their rival house.

"And fifty points to Slytherin for some excellent flying from these two boys," Madam Hooch finished, gesturing towards Hadrian and Draco. "I look forward to seeing you two at Quidditch tryouts," she told them, smiling down at the two Slytherin boys, her yellow eyes warm. "Class dismissed."

Madam Hooch swept away, heading back towards the castle building. The Slytherins and Gryffindors looked at each other in absolute astonishment for a heartbeat, before the Slytherins all broke out in cheers once more, clamoring around Hadrian and Draco.

"Fifty points!" Blaise exclaimed loudly, "And only in the second week! We're definitely way ahead of all the other Houses already!"

"You guys are awesome," Goyle shouted in their faces, Crabbe thumping both Hadrian and Draco on the back, causing them both to stumble forwards.

"To the Princes of Slytherin!" Millicent hollered. The Slytherin first-years clapped at that, and Crabbe and Goyle lifted Hadrian and Draco onto their shoulders. Pansy even cast a small charm that made brightly colored confetti rain down on the group, getting on everyone's hair and robes.

The Gryffindors stood silently as they watched the Slytherins celebrate. Class had been dismissed early because of Neville's incident, and there was still almost an hour left before dinner.

Hadrian was finally able to break out of the tight group that had surrounded him and Draco. Gasping for breath and laughing, Hadrian jogged over to where Ron and Hermione stood with Neville, Seamus and the dark skinned boy. "Hey there," Hadrian greeted cheerfully, shaking confetti out of his hair.

"You gonna rub it in now?" Ron grumbled bitterly, crossing his arms and glowering at his feet.

Hadrian's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" he asked, stunned at the tone his friend was using.

"Oh, that you're the special Slytherin Prince and all that, and you just got your House fifty points while we lost ten," Ron replied angrily, refusing to meet Hadrian's eyes. "You're probably here just to brag about it to us stupid Gryffindors, huh? 'Cause that's what we are, right? The Princes' stupid Gryffindor friends."

"What? No, I would never do that," Hadrian exclaimed in shock. "Ron, what would make you think I came here just to gloat?" Hadrian frowned and tried to make Ron meet his gaze.

"Humph," Ron huffed, turning away.

Hadrian narrowed his eyes, becoming angry. "Ron, I wouldn't do that. We're friends, and I don't do that to my friends." Suddenly, Hadrian realized that Ron hadn't been in the group that had cheered when Draco and him had set Neville down on the ground, nor the group that had congratulated them.

Ron snorted. "Yeah? Then why did you come here, then? Want to be praised some more for how special you are? 'Cause you're just so powerful and smart that we can't even compare." The bitterness was evident in Ron's tone, and Hadrian found himself glaring at the redheaded boy.

Neville had come up beside Hadrian. "Ron, if Hades and Draco hadn't come flying up to catch me, I'd be dead," the normally quiet boy said angrily. "If anything, they deserve to be praised."

Ron glowered at Neville. "Taking the Slytherin's side now, are we Neville? Betraying us Gryffindors?" Neville flinched back at Ron's harsh tone, tears coming up in his eyes at the accusation of betrayal.

Hadrian clenched his fists, refusing to just stand there and take the insults in silence. "Ron, stop this. Now. We're friends. What's wrong with you?"

Hermione put a hand on Ron's shoulder, but Ron shook her off. "What's wrong with me? Nothing. I'm not some freak who's so good at everything that he doesn't even need to come to school," Ron replied scathingly, "If you think there's something so wrong with me, you can stop deluding yourself and we can just stop being friends. I don't want to be your friend anyways. You're nothing but a super-powerful genius freak."

Hadrian's robes started flapping around him, his messy hair moving in the wind that suddenly whirled up around him. "Ron Weasley," Hadrian began, spitting out the words between gritted teeth. Hadrian knew that his magic was getting out of control again with his rising anger, but he didn't care so much at the moment.

Hermione noticed what was happening, though. "Hadrian, calm down. I'm sure Ron doesn't mean it; he's just upset and jealous right now because you did that dive on your broomstick."

Ron pushed Hermione aside. "I'm not jealous. Just don't want to be so-called friends with the prick anymore."

There was a moment of silence as everybody who heard Ron's declaration paused in shock. "Ron, please," Hadrian begged now, voice soft in the maelstrom his wild magic was creating, "What did I do wrong?"

Ron turned his back to Hadrian and gritted his teeth. "I just don't like you. That's all."

Hadrian looked as his former friend in disbelief and anger. "Fine," he shouted, the wind created by his magic howling around the group of first years and stinging them in the face, both Slytherin and Gryffindor alike. Everybody was watching their confrontation quietly with wide eyes; at the fight between the Fire Prince and the Weasley. "Then I don't want to be your friend either, Ron," Hadrian yelled at him, before storming off back towards the castle and taking his wild magic with him.

Ron glowered after Hadrian's retreating back in the sudden silence after the noise of the wind created by Hadrian's magic, until he noticed that everybody was staring disapprovingly at him. "What?" he snapped at them.

Neville, who had recovered himself from Ron's earlier jab, shouted angrily, "Ron you idiot. Hadrian didn't do anything to you, and he just saved my life! Why can't you see that Hadrian wasn't trying to brag?"

Ron crossed his arms. "What, you on his side too, Neville?"

Hermione smacked Ron on the shoulder with the book she was holding. "Oh for goodness' sakes, Ron. There are no sides. Just go apologize to Hadrian and that'll be the end of it."

Ron glared at her. "I'm not apologizing to that prick. He deserved what he got. He's probably off bragging to some other people now."

Hermione stared at Ron. "What's gotten into you, Ronald Weasley?" she asked in horror. "Hadrian would never do something like that. Stop being jealous over the fact that Hadrian is better than you."

Scowling, Ron turned away, intending to head back to the Gryffindor Common Room until dinner, but his way was blocked by Draco Malfoy.

Glaring at the pale boy, all of Ron's initial dislike of him came surging back in the face of his humiliation. "Get out of my way," Ron growled at Draco.

The grey eyes showed no emotion as Draco casually raised one elegant eyebrow. "Are you going to make me, Weasel?" he asked coolly.

Ron spat and tried to push his way past the blond boy, but he was immediately hit by a charm that made his body go rigid. Ron's eyes widened as he felt himself lose his balance, and he toppled over onto the ground, landing on the grass with a thud.

Draco's face emerged in Ron's line of vision, Draco twirling his wand in between his fingers. "That was the spell _petrificus totalus _just now, Weasel. The complete body-bind."

Ron, finding that his jaws wouldn't unclench, satisfied himself by just shooting daggers with his eyes at the pale boy. Draco smirked and waved his wand once in the air. "There, you should be able to speak now, Weasel," Draco told him mockingly.

Ron scowled. "Get me outta this bloody spell, Malfoy."

Draco sneered at the redhead lying immobile at his feet. "Maybe later, when I feel like it," he said lightly. "You do realize that Hadrian truly wanted to be your friend, Weasel. You should've been honored. Blood-traitors like you don't often get befriended by purebloods like us."

Ron's scowl deepened. "Shut it, Malfoy. You two are nothing but bloody gits, you know that?"

Draco rolled his eyes and crouched down next to the livid face of Ron Weasley. "He really wanted to be your friend, you know, although I honestly have no idea who'd want to be friends with _you._ I even thought you weren't half bad at some point. But what you did just now ruined that. Completely and utterly, you destroyed any respect I might've had for you. I'm surprised I actually had any in the first place. You're nothing but a Weasel, after all."

"There's something wrong with you two. You're just too close. It's not like you're _really _brothers or anything. Hadrian's not even related to you." Ron fumed and struggled against the spell that held his body immobile, but to no avail. He gritted his teeth. He hadn't wanted to go so far at first; all he had wanted was to complain a bit before making up with Hadrian. But now that it seemed as if everybody was against him, he clenched his jaws in obstinacy and doggedly continued on. "Nobody wants Hadrian, anyways. He's just some orphan that Snape picked up and then dumped on you guys 'cause Snape couldn't be bothered to raise Hadrian himself."

Ron was forced to stop speaking when Draco slapped him across the face, the crack of skin on skin resounding among the absolutely silent gathering of first-years. With another wave of his wand, Draco made Ron unable to move his jaws once more. Standing up and dusting off his robes, Draco sneered down at the boy lying in front of him. His grey eyes were cold and emotionless. "Ronald Weasley," he said softly, his voice sending chills crawling up Ron's spine with the barely concealed venom, "Be warned. You've rejected Hadrian's offer of friendship over a petty matter of House points, you've insulted both Hadrian and me, and you've belittled my family, Professor Snape, and Hadrian's real parents. I will only say this once, Weasel, so listen closely."

There was a collective intake of breath as all the first-years in the gathering strained their ears to catch Draco's softly spoken words, almost whispered in a razor-edged voice to the redheaded boy at his feet.

"This means war."

And with that, Draco strode out of the gathering of first-years, following his brother back into the school. The rest of the Slytherins followed suit, walking quickly back to the warmth and safety of the castle. Ron was left lying on the ground, still immobile because Draco hadn't lifted the spell from his body, as one by one the Gryffindors headed back as well, casting pitying glances back at him; the boy who was stupid enough to defy the Princes.

* * *

All who remained beside Ron were Hermione, Seamus, and Neville.

"Well, that turned out well," Hermione said sarcastically, eyeing the retreating figures of their fellow Gryffindors and the Slytherins.

"I hope Hadrian is okay," Neville said glumly, sitting down on the grass beside Ron's still frozen body.

Seamus crouched down next to Ron, making sure Ron could see his face. "What did you say all that for, Ron?" Seamus asked angrily, "Hadrian's been nothing but downright nice to us all. Plus he just saved Neville's life. Why d'you have to go and make him angry like that?"

Ron didn't reply, his jaws refusing to budge. Hermione, seeing Ron's face go red as he fought against the spell, rolled her eyes and took out her own wand, brushing her bushy hair away from her face. "Oh for heaven's sakes, Ronald. I don't know why I even put up with you." She waved her wand once and uttered the counter spell against the body bind. Ron was released from the grip of the spell at once, his mouth cracking open in a gasp and his limbs jerking out from where they had been pinned against his body.

"Thanks, Hermione," Ron gasped. She just rolled her eyes again and pointedly ignored him.

"Hey Ron, answer me," Seamus demanded.

Neville joined in with a nod. "Yeah, why were you so mean to Hadrian?" he asked disapprovingly.

Ron glowered at them. "Are you guys gonna question me too now?" he asked, sharper than he'd intended.

Neville flinched slightly away from Ron, and Seamus crossed his arms and stood up, his face flushed with anger. "Everybody says that Slytherins are the gits, but Ron, right now, you seem worse." Seamus stormed off, heading back to the castle along with everybody else.

Hermione smacked Ron on top of the head with her book that she was holding. "Ron! What's wrong with you today? You were perfectly fine this morning."

Ron looked at Hermione and Neville who were both beside him and sighed, all the fight draining out of him at once. "It's just not fair," he grumbled, "Hadrian and Draco always get _everything_. They don't even have to work hard, and everybody loves them. Well, everybody loves Hadrian, at least, and Draco's okay. They're just too bloody _perfect._ And it's not _fair."_

Hermione let out her breath in a whoosh, sitting down onto the grass beside Ron and dropping her books down beside her. "I know what you mean," she admitted. "They get perfect grades all the time, and they finish all their homework in less than an hour. They don't even study, yet they ace every test. It's not possible for two first years to be just that powerful and smart. They mastered magic up to fifth year? That's just ridiculous. They're both just too perfect."

Neville listened incredulously as Ron and Hermione both started talking bad about Hadrian and Draco. He stood up angrily, crossing his arms and trying to assume a threatening expression. "T-those two are my friends!" Neville declared loyally despite his stuttering voice, standing up to Ron and Hermione. "I won't let you talk bad about them behind their backs!"

Hermione gave Neville a small smile. "I know, Neville," she said, "They're my friends too. And I didn't finish. Hadrian and Draco are both too perfect, and yes, I do get jealous because they're both better than me, but they're not bad people. You accused of Hadrian for trying to brag about the House points just now, Ron, but that's not something Hadrian would ever do. He's just not like that. That's why I think you should go apologize to him, since after all, we're all friends." Hermione nodded to herself, satisfied of the sound reasoning behind her arguments.

Ron looked down at his fingers, which were currently employed with yanking out every single strand of grass from beneath his palm. "I know, and I didn't mean to say all that garbage about them both," Ron mumbled, his ears turning almost as red as his hair in embarrassment for his previous outburst, "But we're not friends anymore. They probably hate me now."

Hermione shook her head. "Ron, if you explain it to Hadrian, I'm sure he'll understand," she said gently.

Ron groaned and flopped down onto the ground, raising his arms to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun. "No, they won't. Draco just declared _war _on me. And Hadrian's probably angry with me for being so mean to him. Did you see the way his magic spiked up? He must've been really angry for it to do that. They probably won't ever want to talk to me again."

Neville moaned. "But really, this is all your fault, Ron. Why'd you go and say such things? What if Hadrian and Draco don't want to be friends with any of us anymore?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Neville's completely exaggerated fears. "That's not going to happen," she said decisively, although she sounded much more confidant than she felt. The way Hadrian had stormed off earlier, added to the way Draco had behaved and even slapped Ron… Hermione wondered if anything would ever be the same again.

"I knew becoming friends with a Malfoy and his brother wouldn't be a good idea," Ron muttered gloomily.

Hermione eyed Ron, who was viciously yanking out all the grass in the immediate area, to Neville, who was glumly watching the progress. Picking up all her books and slinging her bag over her shoulder, Hermione stood up and dusted off her robes. "Come on," she said, looking down at the two boys. "Let's go back to the Common Room before dinner. That way, Ron, you can start with apologizing to Seamus."

She walked towards the castle briskly without another glance, and soon she was joined by the sounds of two pairs of footsteps behind her, as they made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione made up her mind to force Ron to apologize to Hadrian and Draco over dinner that night in the Great Hall. The sooner the argument was resolved, she reasoned, the sooner they would be able to forgive each other.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hi everybody! Thanks for reviewing so much! All the reviews are positive so far, and I didn't get any flames, so I'm pretty happy right now :P Oh, and in case you didn't see by the chapter's name, this is the first chapter with 'conflict'. There'll be more, later on. Sorry for the Weasley bashing, but I tried to make Ron stay in character and Ron was always pretty jealous of Harry/Hadrian anyway. Don't worry, I'll never bash the twins though. And Hermione has finally gone past the annoying know-it-all stage to the we're-actually-friends-but-I'm-still-a-know-it-all stage, so she won't be so stuck up anymore. At least, not as often ;)

R Dawg: I tried to PM you but it didn't work so I'm gonna reply here.  
Your review was awesome. Just awesome. Thank you so much for the criticism (If you haven't noticed by now, I really liked your review). I'll try to make Hadrian more 'human' from now on. I already have an idea for his major flaw. I can't really change their magic abilities now though, and I kinda like it that they're more powerful than other people. I know it's a big exaggeration, but I tried to make it more realistic when their powers get them in trouble and got their friends jealous and stuff. I wrote this chapter with your review in mind, actually. I had this whole other direction going, but when I read your review I completely rewrote it. Hope you think it's ok, for a start. And I won't make Hadrian able to solve any problem instantaneously anymore, since even I thought it was a bit unrealistic. Thanks for the criticism, and please continue reviewing!


	10. The Trapdoor

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Draco hurried through the stone hallways, searching for Hadrian. He hadn't been in the Slytherin Common Room down in the dungeons, and Draco hadn't been able to find him anywhere at all in the dungeons in general. Draco had even asked Snape where Hadrian had went, from sheer desperation, but the man had just sneered and said Hadrian had probably wanted to be alone, so there was no point in revealing his location to Draco even if he did know where Hadrian went. Which, in Snape language, meant that he had no idea. After growing up with Hadrian and spending a month with the man every year while growing up, Draco had become quite adept at Snape's unique way of phrasing.

Draco suppressed the surge of irritation at Hadrian's godfather. The man was the most reclusive, snarky wizard Draco had ever met, and hardly ever gave a straight answer without snide comments or sneering. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was Hadrian's godfather, and was at least a protective guardian and civil to them both, not including the rest of the students at Hogwarts, Draco shuddered to think how he'd live through Potions classes for the rest of the year.

Dragging his mind back to the situation at hand, Draco sighed in frustration and continued his search for his missing twin. The boy had an unhealthy tendency for disappearing suddenly and brooding alone when he was angry or sad.

Draco hurried on through the halls, listing off the places that he'd checked already. The Slytherin Common Room, the dungeons, Snape's office, the Great Hall, the boy's bathroom, the Library, even the Owlery. After searching for over half an hour and with no results, Draco was becoming slightly desperate, almost running through the second floor hallway and peering into random classrooms. Hadrian, though he always managed to stop fights among others with ease, had never been good at handling arguing and fighting that involved himself. The fact that the Weasley had brought up the part about being a freak just made it worse.

Though Hadrian was normally cheerful and lighthearted, Draco was the only one who knew just how much the absence of his real parents bothered Hadrian, and how much the feeling of not belonging affected him. Growing up with just a snarky godfather as his only real family, Hadrian had somewhat developed an inferiority complex. He never took rejection well, and it was the reason behind his endless drive in becoming friends with everybody. No one else knew of this, not even the Draco's parents. Only Draco was aware of Hadrian's vulnerability, which the dark haired boy hid at all times under a friendly guise and smiling face. Draco's heart clenched and his footsteps sped up. He had to find Hadrian.

Thinking back to the reason Hadrian was off brooding alone in the first place, Draco gritted his teeth as another wave of inordinate anger swept through him. That the Weasley would _dare _insult Hadrian, that the Weasley was actually so insensitive and selfish as to _want _to hurt Hadrian, as to say right to his face that he didn't want to be friends just because Slytherin had gained some House points. Even after all Hadrian had done for him. Even after Hadrian had trusted him with the history of his parents. Draco sneered. That was why the Weasleys were all just blood-traitors not worthy of notice from upstanding purebloods like Hadrian and himself. The Weasley didn't deserve the honor of being friends with them. Draco held on to the anger for a moment, before it was quickly replaced again with his worry for Hadrian. Draco had to find him soon, before he did anything stupid.

Suddenly, a grey and white blur streaked past him overhead, laughing wildly and singing nonsense in a high-pitched falsetto. Draco paused, looking back behind him and following the blur with his eyes. The cackling that emanated from the figure, along with the sharp chin and mischievous eyes, immediately ascertained that it was Peeves. He seemed to be in a good mood, and the last words from his song drifted back to Draco as Peeves sped down the corridors, rattling the suits of armor as he went by; _'Hadey, Hadey, No-Last-Namey, he and Fluffy are gonna smash Hoggy Warts to bits!'_

Draco screeched to a stop in his fast-paced walk as he heard the words. There was no doubt that Peeves had just sung about Hadrian, and something about smashing. In the quiet after Peeves' song, while Draco continued to strain his ears to catch more of the words, he suddenly noticed muffled explosions coming from somewhere slightly above him on the floor above the one he was on. As he had been searching for Hadrian, dinner had started, and everybody was down eating in the Great Hall. Draco frowned, wondering what was making such a racket up on the third floor. He would've immediately guessed Peeves and dismissed the noise as Peeves' newest practical joke, but the poltergeist had just zoomed down the hallway in the opposite direction, and even though he was dead, there was no way he could've gotten up on the third floor so quickly. Draco's thoughts immediately went to Hadrian, wondering if Hadrian was the one making the noises. Peeves did say something about Hadrian smashing the school, after all. Draco groaned inwardly and set off at a run up to the third floor. If it indeed was Hadrian, Draco knew that he must have been doing something incredibly stupid to warrant so much noise.

Up the Grand Staircase and turning to the right, Draco followed the noises as they increased in volume with each step he took. Feeling a trickle of trepidation worm through him, Draco slowed his steps. If it wasn't Hadrian making the noises, Draco could only guess what else would be able to cause such a clamor, and he was sure whatever it was wouldn't be friendly. Turning the final corner, Draco yelped and jumped out of the way as chunks of stone and mortar immediately came flying towards his head.

Dodging reflexively and immediately shaking his wand out of his sleeve and into his hand, Draco crouched into a defensive position, his eyes narrowing to peer into the gloom of the darkened hallway. The noise that Draco had followed was deafening in his ears, and Draco realized that they weren't just explosions that he had been hearing; there were also barks of some sort mixed in to the noise of the explosions. Having just turned the corner, Draco was facing a short hall that led to a dead end, with a single plain wooden door that stood open at the end of it. There was nothing special about the door; it was wooden and bound with iron fastenings, just like all the other classroom doors in Hogwarts. Only through the arch that the open door revealed was the most monstrous creature Draco had ever seen, snapping its humongous jaws at a single small figure standing in the doorway.

With just a glance Draco knew it was Hadrian. Even from the back and in the darkened hallway, Draco automatically recognized the form of his twin, with his wild hair and the wand in his left hand. And he seemed to be in trouble. He was shooting spells left and right at the beast, but they didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever; on the contrary, the spells seemed to enrage the monster further, causing the earsplitting roars that Draco had been hearing. Draco ducked as another wayward spell flew towards him, dodging the bursts of light erupting from Hadrian's wand and running down the hallway.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" was the first thing Draco thought of to say when he finally stood, out of breath from all the dodging, beside Hadrian in the doorway. Draco had to shout over the noise of the roars coming from the beast and the explosions from the spells coming out of Hadrian's wand, squinting to protect his eyes from the dust and debris flying through the air.

Flicking his eyes sideways without ever taking it completely away from the monster and seeing Draco out of his peripheral vision, Hadrian shot him a quick grin. "I had some excess magic, and this seemed like a good way to work it off. It's nothing," Hadrian shouted back.

Draco stared, stunned, at Hadrian while the other boy continued firing off spells nonstop. Recovering himself and snapping his jaws closed, which had fallen open as he stared, Draco tried to suppress the completely unreasonable urge to whack the other boy on the head. Draco knew that Hadrian was reckless, but even this seemed like it was over the top.

"How in the world did _this_ seem like a good idea?" Draco asked incredulously, ignoring the roaring of the beast just mere yards in front of him and instead focusing on Hadrian, who at that moment seemed more incredible than the fifteen foot tall three-headed dog that was snapping its razor sharp teeth right in front of them. "You made me worry, you know. I seriously thought you were feeling bad about that scene with Weasley earlier. And then I find you here, battling this thing alone in a dark abandoned hallway, and you tell me that it's _nothing?"_ Draco's voice had risen to a scream by the end of his rant.

Hadrian just laughed slightly, although his green eyes darkened at the mention of Ron. Hadrian visibly swallowed hard, and then shook his head slightly to clear it. "Calm down, Drake," he said, intentionally avoiding the topic of the Weasley. "I was just exploring the third floor corridor, since Dumbledore said that whoever did so would die a very painful death during the opening ceremony. Remember?"

Draco noticed for the first time that they were in the forbidden corridor. With a jolt, he thought back to the day when he and Hadrian had first been Sorted. He nodded when he remembered what Dumbledore had said, and he also remembered the gleam in Hadrian's eyes back then that held the promise of adventure and a sneaky scheme. "So you decided to come here after storming off after the flying lessons, since you thought that exploring here would work off the wild magic," Draco guessed, "But while you were looking around, you came upon this three-headed dog and it attacked you. You immediately hit it with some spells, but when it didn't go down you continued to shoot spells at it. And then after a while, when it didn't seem as if either of you would back down, I came along."

Hadrian nodded slowly. "Yeah, that seems about right," he agreed casually, not even looking at the dog anymore while beams of light continued to fly out of the end of his wand, hitting the creature and making it even angrier. "But there's just one more thing. I didn't just stay here randomly abusing the poor creature because I wanted to, you know."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hadrian. The thing is a fifteen-foot tall monster. It's not a poor creature that you're abusing."

Hadrian ignored him. "I stayed here because look over there, down by its feet," Hadrian gestured with his right hand – the hand not shooting spells out of his wand – down to the ground around the creature's feet, grinning and with an excited gleam in his eyes. "Do you see that, Drake?"

Draco looked away from Hadrian and back to the creature, trying to see past the snapping jaws and huge teeth to the creature's feet. After peering unsuccessfully into the dark chamber for a while, Draco huffed with irritation and waved his own wand, lighting the tip with a muttered _lumos_. Immediately, the soft white light that emitted from the end of Draco's wand lighted the chamber. Draco's eyes widened as the light illuminated what he hadn't seen before in the dark; a great wooden trapdoor set into the ground, directly under the monster's huge front paws.

"Hades, is that a-" Draco breathed.

"Yes. It's a trapdoor. Which means that they didn't just put this three-headed dog in this chamber for no reason; it's guarding something. And by the looks of it, it's something precious."

Draco looked from Hadrian to the trapdoor and back again, the pieces clicking together in his head. "Dumbledore warned us away from this hallway and said that we would die a painful death if we tried to enter," he began, figuring it out.

"Which meant that Dumbledore knew the dog was here, and that means that Dumbledore is a part of this whole thing," Hadrian continued.

"And since the other teachers have agreed to evacuate this hallway, that means at least some of them are in on it too," Draco said slowly, a frown furrowing his face as he thought it through.

"And all the security and trouble this has caused definitely means that the thing the dog's guarding is really special," Hadrian added, finishing Draco's thoughts for him like they always did.

"So if the whole school is trying so hard to guard whatever this thing is, then that means that somebody or something wants to steal it, and since Dumbledore's renowned for his allegiance to the Light, that means whatever's trying to steal the thing must be either Dark or evil," Draco concluded.

Hadrian smiled. "Yep. That's exactly what I thought, as well."

Draco gave the dark haired boy a small smile before he focused back on the trapdoor. "I bet there are other traps beyond that door," he mused.

Hadrian's grin widened. "There's only one way to be sure, isn't there, Drake?" he asked excitedly.

Draco glanced over at him, noting the shining green eyes and the eager expression. "No way, Hades," Draco replied automatically. "We are definitely _not_ going down that trapdoor."

Hadrian's eyes narrowed, and Draco sensed that he was about to argue. Acting fast, Draco grabbed Hadrian by the shoulder and shoved him back, out of the doorway. Hadrian's eyes widened as he lost his balance and fell backwards. At the same moment, Draco slammed the door to the chamber shut, pushing it closed on the three extremely pissed off faces of the dog on the other side.

The hallway was immediately engulfed in silence, broken only by the muffled howls coming from the other side of the door. Draco sighed and staggered to the wall, sliding down into a sitting position. Wincing as he sat on some stray pieces of rubble from all of Hadrian's spells earlier, Draco cleared an area for himself and plopped down, stretching out his legs and leaning his head back.

"Draco! What was that for? We could've seen what was under that trapdoor!" Hadrian was scowling darkly at the fair-haired boy, lying on the ground and rubbing the back of his head angrily where he had fallen earlier. Hadrian sat up, sliding his wand back into his sleeve.

Draco crossed his arms and met Hadrian's scowl with a glare. "Why do you think the Headmaster _and _the professors warned us away from this hall, Hades?" he asked. "Whatever that dog is guarding, it's dangerous. We're better off pretending we never saw it. You've done enough damage here as it is." They both looked around at the corridor after Draco's comment. The entire hallway looked as if a troll had lumbered through. A decisively large, probably intoxicated troll.

Hadrian snorted and shook his wand back out, waving it in the air. "_Reparo Maximus." _The chunks of wall and debris immediately flew back to their original shapes, and soon the corridor looked as if it hadn't been half demolished just a few seconds ago. "You were saying?" Hadrian asked Draco.

Draco closed his eyes and let his head fall against the wall at his back with a thump. "Hadrian, why can't you understand that whatever is down there, is probably down there for a reason? They wouldn't be guarding something within the school if it were just anything. If we try and get down there, we'll be in way over our heads. Father would be furious if he knew we even came to the forbidden corridor."

Hadrian rolled his eyes. "Father won't ever have to know."

"That's just it, Hades," Draco said, frowning. "If we try and go down there, the professors would get involved, and then the Headmaster as well, and then Father will definitely know. Can't you understand that this isn't one of your pranks anymore? This is real."

Hadrian glared, his chin raising. "I want to know what's down there. It's fine if you're too scared, Drake. I'll just go alone. It doesn't matter whether you come or not."

Draco growled and sat up, hands clenching into fists. "Hadrian. What's wrong with you? This isn't like you at all."

Silence. Hadrian just glared at Draco, and Draco glared back. Draco couldn't believe the way Hadrian was acting. He was foolhardy and rash, but Hadrian had never tried to push Draco away before. Except when he was angry or troubled. Draco considered this for a moment, and suddenly, everything made sense. Everything that had happened joined together into the big picture, and Draco immediately knew what the problem was.

"Ok, Hades. Spill it. You're acting like this 'cause you're actually still angry with Weasley. You'll feel better after you talk."

Hadrian frowned, his mouth turning down in a moue of disagreement and the glare fading somewhat from his gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said stiffly, staring haughtily at the wall above Draco's head and putting on a classic stuck up expression.

Draco sighed in exasperation, leaning forward from the wall to face the other boy, who was still sitting in the middle of the newly repaired corridor. It was like this all the time. Since they were little, Hadrian never liked admitting weakness, and denied it fiercely whenever he was asked. Draco was the only one who knew that Hadrian was irritable and erratic when he was troubled, though even Draco sometimes didn't recognize the signs when something was bothering Hadrian. It had taken him a while to notice that something was wrong just then, but now he was determined to make the other boy feel better. "You're brooding and I know it. No use denying it, so just tell me what's bugging you."

Hadrian turned his head away, hugging his legs to him and resting his head on top of his knees. "Nothing's wrong, Drake. You're overreacting," he said sharply.

"Yeah, and you dueling with a three-headed dog and destroying half the corridor is supposed to reassure me that nothing's wrong?" Rolling his eyes, Draco tried again. "It's definitely about Weasley, right? About what he said to you." Silence. Taking this as a sign to continue, Draco elaborated, "You're brooding over what he said. That's why you've been so reckless and rash, coming into this corridor and shooting spells at the dog. You're angry with him, and with what he told you. Especially that part where he called you a freak."

Hadrian suddenly spun around and growled, his shoulders coming up as if bracing for a physical blow. "I'm not a freak," he hissed, his green eyes blazing bright in the light of their glowing _lumos_ with rightful anger and a hint of uncertainty.

Draco leaned closer, glad of the progress he was making. At least he was now getting an actual response from the other boy. "No, you aren't," he said softly in a placating tone, holding Hadrian's furious gaze. "You are not a freak, and he had no right to call you one. He didn't deserve you as a friend."

A tense moment passed as Hadrian continued to glare at Draco, but all of a sudden the fight went out of him in a whoosh. Hadrian slumped down into himself, and slowly crawled over to where Draco sat against the wall. Draco put an arm over the other boy's shoulders, trying to comfort him the best he could. They were brothers, after all. They had to look out for each other, since the rest of the world would only leave them behind.

"Tell me," Draco said one last time, gently.

This time, Hadrian answered. Sighing and leaning into Draco's arm, Hadrian stared sullenly at the stone of the corridor in front of his feet. "I wanted to be friends with him. I thought he was okay with the fact that I didn't have any parents or we were in different Houses or that you and I've studied higher-level material already. I thought he was okay with it. I never thought he'd think me a freak." Hadrian sounded pitiful, his voice small in the echoing corridor.

Draco tightened his grip around Hadrian's shoulders. "I thought he was okay as well," Draco admitted quietly, urging the dark haired boy to continue.

"And I hated how my magic reacted. It always does that when I get really angry, but lately, here at Hogwarts, it's been doing that more often, and it's getting harder to control," Hadrian said softly, whispering it into the silence. The three headed dog on the other side of the door had quieted down, and the hallway echoed with the two boys' whispered words.

Draco looked down at the top of Hadrian's head, getting a face full of dark, untamed curls. "It's been getting harder to control?" he questioned, an edge creeping into his voice.

The boy nodded. "Whenever I get angry, my magic explodes, as you know. But it always tries to target the person that _made_ me angry. Like that time with Hermione, my magic was about to try and rip her to shreds. I could barely hold it back from killing her on the spot, and I just knew that it would do so if I let it free. So I had to hold it back. That's what made me so exhausted that time."

Draco nodded in sudden understanding. "So earlier with Weasley…?"

Hadrian let out a bark of laughter. "I was so angry back then that I almost let my magic free. I could hardly hold it back. That's why my magic always explodes in a whirlwind; since it wants to attack the person who made me angry, but I hold it back, it ends up getting trapped and circling around me. But when Ron called me a freak, I was so close to letting my magic free. _So close, _Draco. Just a second longer and Ron would've been torn apart. I couldn't let that happen, which is why I ran back to the castle. I didn't want to hurt him, and if I didn't get away, I would've killed him then and there. I had to do something with all the extra magic, though, so I came here, since I knew nobody would be around. That's how I found the dog."

They sat in silence after Hadrian's confession, both caught up in their own thoughts. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Draco asked.

Hadrian shook his head, letting his head fall against Draco's comforting warmth. "I thought I could handle it on my own. Besides, it's not really that important. It'll probably go away sometime soon or something."

Draco sighed. "Hades, this is your magic we're talking about. It _is_ really important. And I've never heard of anything like your magic _increasing,_ so I really don't think it's going to be that easy to get rid of. What if you can't handle it next time? What if my brother turns into a murderer? We have to find a way to solve this."

Hadrian sighed as well. "I know, Drake. But after I spend a lot of magic doing spells and stuff, like I did just now, the excess magic goes away and everything becomes normal again. I really don't know what's going on."

"We should tell Father," Draco suggested.

Hadrian immediately shook his head, vehemently denying the idea. "No way. Don't tell Father. He'd just accepted me as his son, I don't want to cause him any trouble or make him regret his decision. Besides, we promised Father that we'd never get caught, no matter what pranks or stunts we pull, right? We can do the same with my magic. Nobody'll ever have to know."

"But how can you keep it a secret? What about classes? You'll have to use your magic then."

"It only happens when I'm really angry, remember?" Hadrian pointed out. "So if I just control my temper, nothing our of the ordinary will happen." Rolling his eyes, Draco admitted defeat. Hadrian smirked at the victory.

"Hey Drake, about that trapdoor, are you _really _that against trying to find out what the dog's protecting? It would be so _fun," _Hadrian whined, giving Draco his best puppy-dog eyes. Draco pushed the other boy's face away.

"No, Hades. I'm serious, there are just some things that we _shouldn't _get involved in."

Hadrian leaped on the loophole in Draco's wording. He was just as much a Slytherin as Draco himself, after all. "You just said shouldn't, Drake," he said immediately. "I know we _shouldn't _get involved, but that doesn't mean we _couldn't._ We can just investigate and nobody will be any the wiser. We don't have to go down right away, we can start by researching about that three-headed dog. What do you say? Aren't you even the slightest bit curious as to what's so important that Albus Dumbledore himself would be protecting it in this school?"

Draco sighed. "Well, as long as we don't get in trouble…" he said slowly, reluctantly.

"Nobody will ever catch us. We're both Malfoys, sneakier than a snake in a forest.'

"And as long as none of the teachers or Father ever finds out…"

"Who's gonna tell them? We've always been good at keeping secrets from others, right, Drake?"

"Then I guess I'm a bit curious," Draco admitted. "Just a tiny bit."

Hadrian whooped. "So we can start researching about that dog first. The Library's bound to have information on the beast, as well as the person who owns it, right?"

Draco nodded, closing his eyes. Hadrian was dragging him along on another one of his schemes. Draco smiled to himself, because he knew that even though Hadrian came up with all these wild ideas, he never opposed them anyways.

"Oh, and about Weasley," Hadrian said, remembering at the last minute, "We're not gonna let him go for this one. He deserves it, after saying those things. I bet after I left he started insulting you as well, right?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah, he said a whole bunch of things about our family and stuff. Just the words of a brainless Gryffindor, nothing to be concerned about," he said dismissively, not wanting Hadrian to know the true extent of Weasley's insults.

Hadrian shrugged. "Too bad. He had no right to say anything like that to us. We never said anything bad about his blood-traitor family and his dirt-poor status, right? He's not gonna get off the hook with this one. Our friendship is officially over."

Draco grinned evilly, matching Hadrian's train of thought. "Don't worry. Before I came to find you, I already declared war on him."

Hadrian laughed. "I should've known. You're my brother, after all, Drake." Hadrian's expression sobered. "But I really wanted to be friends with him. He didn't seem half bad, for a Weasley. And his brothers are all right as well, for a bunch of blood-traitors."

Draco nodded. "Well, we can still associate with the Weasley twins. We only declared war on Ronald Weasley, after all."

Hadrian acknowledged the point. "Okay." Sighing, Hadrian let his head loll against Draco's shoulder. "Hermione, Neville, and Seamus are in the same House as Weasley. Do you think they'll take his side?"

Draco snorted. "If they take Weasley's side, they'd be stupider than I'd thought. Everybody heard those horrible things Weasley said. I doubt anybody's gonna accept him now, not even those fellow Gryffindors of his."

"We can still be friends with Hermione and the rest, though. They haven't done anything to us," Hadrian insisted.

Draco frowned. He would rather have ditched the whole Gryffindor bunch completely and gone back to their Slytherin groups, but it seemed Hadrian was determined to continue their acquaintance with what Draco deemed were useless people who had more brainless brawn than tact. But Draco sighed. He could never deny Hadrian anything, anyways. "Fine. But from now on, no more associating with Weasley. No more eating at the Gryffindor table. We're gonna make Weasley's life hell, and he'll deserve it," Draco decided.

Hadrian nodded with a grin. "I think it's about time we started creating the our own legend in Hogwarts, don't you, Draco? We did promise those Weasley twins that we'd outdo them after all."

Draco nodded and got to his feet. Holding out a hand to Hadrian, he dragged the dark-haired boy up as well. "You bet, Hades. The Princes of Slytherin are going into action. We're gonna rule the school. The era of the Weasley twins is long over."

Hadrian laughed. He had regained the evil glint in his eyes, which he had somewhat lost during their weeks at Hogwarts. Draco found himself glad that it was back. Hadrian was completely his again, and Draco didn't want to share him with anybody else. "Deal," Hadrian accepted. "Watch out, Weasley. The two Princes of Slytherin have opened direct warfare. You may run, but you'll _never_ be able to hide from us."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I am _so_ sorry for the huge delay in the update! School exams just finished, like, literally, _just _finished three hours ago, and I've been writing this like crazy to catch up. Updates will be kinda irregular for the next two weeks or so, since I have _another _exam for piano coming up, and I haven't practiced _at all. _Whatever. As an apology for the super long wait for this chapter, I posted a new story as well. Rated M Drarry slash, so really, don't read it if you don't want to. I'll post another T story soon; I already have an idea for the plotline. Again, I'm soooooo sorry for the wait!

P.S. I'm sorry to people who liked Ron Weasley. I know he's a good guy and everything, but he's just so easy to pick on! But don't worry, there will be _no_ bashing of the Weasley twins. I'll only ever bash Ginny Weasley and Ron Weasley in my stories. The rest of the Weasleys are safe.


	11. Quidditch

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

The next morning in the Great Hall, breakfast was served as usual. Only as it was Friday, the last day of the week, the house elves down in the kitchens had prepared special extra large cakes for each House's table, decorated in their House's colors and standing almost a meter in height. The towering pastries loomed over the heads of the students as they sat down to breakfast, the centerpieces of each table. As Hadrian and Draco entered the Great Hall and saw the four cakes at each table, their faces split into two identical grins.

"This is just too easy," Hadrian muttered to Draco, smirking at the cakes. "And I even made up a great plan. Looks like we won't need it anymore, with these cakes here."

"Seems as if even the school is against Weasley now, huh?" Draco mused. "I wonder how the Weasley twins will react to our revenge against the Weasel. Weasley himself might be nothing, but those brothers of his must be reckoned with."

Hadrian shrugged dismissively. "They won't know anything until it's too late. Besides, they can't do anything to us. We'll out prank them every time."

Draco smirked and nodded. They met each other's eyes, green and grey both filled with determination, and they walked over to the Slytherin table, where Blaise and Pansy were waiting for them.

"What are you two grinning about?" Blaise asked, helping himself to a generous slice of the green and silver Slytherin cake. "You two have the exact same expressions on your faces. It's actually a little creepy."

Sitting down, Draco snorted at the comment but didn't answer. "You'll see," Hadrian replied vaguely, his grin widening as he sat down next to Draco and grabbed some toast.

Pansy shook her head. "Boys, if you're up to something, at least don't do it in the Great Hall. We're having breakfast, for Merlin's sake." She was looking at them disapprovingly, almost like Narcissa, Draco thought.

Hadrian blinked innocently at Pansy. "Whoever said we were up to something? Pansy, I'm disappointed that you think so lowly of us. We are responsible students of Hogwarts, after all." Hadrian lifted his chin and did such a good imitation of wounded dignity that Blaise laughed into his cake, sending himself into a burst of choked coughing.

Pansy rolled her eyes, but let the subject drop. Hadrian and Draco smirked at each other, all the while discreetly keeping an eye on the large wooden doors where students were entering the Great Hall in packs for breakfast before classes started. Weasley had not yet arrived for breakfast in the Great Hall, and Draco and Hadrian were both determined to know the exact moment when he entered to put their plan in action.

Draco kicked Hadrian in the shin under the table when he saw a flash of bright red hair enter the Great Hall over the mob of regular black robes. Hadrian nodded slightly to indicate that he understood, and dropped his toast. Meeting Draco's eyes, Hadrian raised his eyebrows. "Ready?" he asked, subtly shaking his wand out of his sleeve and into his hand under the table. Draco did the same. They were sitting on the right side of the Slytherin table, their backs facing the rest of the Hall. The Gryffindor table was on the very right side of the Hall, across the tables of the other two Houses.

Draco smirked at Hadrian. "Ready."

Hadrian looked back at Blaise and Pansy, who were busy eating their own breakfasts. "Hey, what do we have for classes today?" he asked cheerfully, hiding his wand in his lap.

Pansy looked up and frowned. "Double Potions. Why, Hadrian? I thought you'd memorized the schedule already."

Hadrian shrugged, watching from the corner of his eye the shock of red hair go over to the Gryffindor table and sit down directly beside the large red and gold Gryffindor cake. Just as Hadrian and Draco had anticipated. Perfect. "Oh, I'm just checking to make sure that I've got it right," Hadrian responded to Pansy, running the hand that wasn't holding his wand under the table through his hair, making it even messier than it was. "You never know for sure. Double checking is always a good idea."

Blaise looked up in surprise from his plateful of cake. "Since when did you get so responsible, Hades? For a second there you almost sounded like Draco."

Draco sneered at Blaise. "Hadrian and I are both Malfoys, Blaise. We cannot expect you, a Zabini, to understand the level of sophistication with which we spend our daily lives."

Blaise laughed. "Oh yeah, Malfoy? Well, I'd like to see some of that Malfoy sophistication you talk so highly about sometime. From all I see, you're just a little prick gotten big on your family's Ministry standing."

Draco's sneer turned into a smirk. "And you're nothing but the child of a gold-grabbing mother who only acquired her fortune by marrying, what was it, six wealthy old men? And they all died in mysterious circumstances, from what I hear. Makes one wonder what _really _happened to them, hmm?"

Blaise smirked back, engaging in the usual Slytherin banter about family backgrounds. "Nope, seven now. The seventh old man died just a few months before school began. Mother was devastated. Of course, she wasted no time at all in spending all his money in buying herself new dress robes and a larger mansion, so I really don't know whether her tears were from joy or grief."

Hadrian snorted. "At least your mother loves you very much, Blaise. Even with all her husbands, I've never seen a woman more attached to her son."

Shaking his head, Blaise stuck out his tongue. "Really, Hades. She's a monster. Firecalls me every night in the Common Room and sends me letters every Sunday. I'm glad to finally be at Hogwarts. She was still dressing me herself every day and spoon-feeding me when I was at home, even though I was eleven already." Blaise shuddered in horror at the memory of his mother's coddling, his dark skin getting a shade lighter as he paled.

Pansy giggled. "I'd like to see that one day, Blaise," she said. "Mummy's little boy."

Blaise smacked her on the shoulder, and they all laughed. "Say that again, Parkinson, and I'll tell everybody about the time you came over for a week and cried for your mum every night until we gave you a Calming Draught to quiet you down."

Pansy screeched in mock rage and hit Blaise with a barrage of punches. Blaise blocked most of them with his arm, laughing, and continued to what Pansy with his other hand. Draco nudged Hadrian imperceptibly while the two fought, and Hadrian dipped his head to show he understood.

Still pretending to be laughing, both Hadrian and Draco aimed their wands behind themselves; hiding their wands under their arms so only the wand tips could stick out behind them. Without even turning their heads and looking as if they were still paying attention to Pansy and Blaise's antics, they aimed their wands directly at the large Gryffindor cake, three tables away from them. Avoiding the heads of the other students and the two other House tables, both Hadrian and Draco pointed their wands and shot a single spell, together.

"_Reducto."_

The twin spells shot across the Great Hall, invisible to the eye, passing students and the other tables by just a hair's breadth and hit right on target. In a single moment, the two spells collided with the towering gold and red confection on the Gryffindor table, making it explode in a blast of icing and sugar. The cake blew up on the table, splattering the students who had been sitting closest with chunks of the remains. Screams went up on that side of the Great Hall as the students all yelled in surprise. Some of the Ravenclaw students on the House table closest to the Gryffindors also got hit, and they exclaimed in outrage at the Gryffindors, blaming them for the stunt.

Hadrian and Draco turned to see the results of their prank with wide eyes, pretending that they were just like all the other shocked students in the Great Hall. "What the bloody hell happened?" Hadrian asked, masking his features into one of utmost concern. He half stood from his position on the bench, craning his neck for a look at their handiwork.

"Must be the Gryffindors. They're always unnecessarily loud in the mornings," Draco said haughtily, not standing at all and only turning his face a fraction to see the outcome. Though his face remained impassive and cold, as usual, Hadrian grinned when he saw Draco's eyes shining with triumph.

"Looks like the Gryffs got their cake exploded," Blaise reported from where he'd climbed up on the bench to see over the heads of the other students. "Bloody mess too. A bunch of students are completely _covered _with the stuff."

Hadrian clambered onto the bench as well, following Blaise's example. He laughed when he saw Ronald Weasley, sitting in a puddle of cake and icing, looking as if someone had made a snowman figure out of cake and topped it with a dash of carrot hair. Weasley was furious; apparently, he had gotten the worst of the blast, as he had been sitting right next to the cake when it exploded. His robes, his books, his bag; they were all completely ruined. His shouting could be heard even from the Slytherin table on the other side of the Great Hall.

Hadrian's smile faltered a bit when he saw the bushy head of Hermione right next to Weasley, also covered in cake, but he looked away. Making Weasley their enemy meant that other Gryffindors would have to be involved as well, and there was nothing they could do about it. Shrugging, Hadrian dropped back down off the bench and picked up his toast again.

"Well?" Draco asked in a low voice, so low that none other but Hadrian would be able to hear.

"Mission success," Hadrian said with a grin, matching Draco's tone. Hadrian held out his hand under the table, and Draco slapped at it in a high-five. "This is only phase one, though. There's a lot more coming up," Hadrian decided.

Draco smiled and stuck his nose in the air. "I would expect nothing less from my brother. You're unbeatable at pranks, after all Hades."

* * *

The following day was Saturday, and it dawned bright and clear. The boys in the Slytherin first year's boys' dormitories were sleeping in on one of the rare days when they actually could. Saturdays were a time of relaxation, after all; meant for sleeping in and lazing about the campus. Sundays were for last minute homework completions.

A foghorn sounded throughout the first year's boys' dormitories, shattering the peaceful silence of the morning. "Wake up everybody!" a voice shouted over the sound of the foghorn, magnified by a _sonorus_ charm. "Get your lazy arses outta bed, it's already nine o'clock!"

Blaise shot out of bed, stumbling and banging his head on his bedpost. Crabbe jolted awake and rolled off his bed to land on the stone floor of the dormitories in a mass of muscle and blankets. Goyle yelled in surprise, his voice lost amidst the noise of the foghorn, and covered his ears. Theodore Nott sat up and blearily rubbed his eyes, wincing at the deafening noise in his ears.

When all the boys were moving and awake, the foghorn finally stopped. "There, now that you're all awake, get dressed," Hadrian said pleasantly, sliding his wand back into the sleeve of his robes after vanishing the foghorn. "You only have an hour, you know. So hurry up."

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Blaise mumbled, climbing back under his warm covers. Casting a quick tempus charm, Blaise groaned. "Hades, it's only nine in the morning. It's Saturday, for Merlin's sake. Why the hell are you up so early?"

Hadrian went over to Blaise's bed and grabbed the covers, throwing them off and leaving Blaise shivering in the sudden chill air of the dormitory. "Blaise, get up. We're gonna be late, and it'll all be your fault. Don't go back to sleep!"

"Can somebody please tell me what he's talking about?" Theodore moaned, covering his face with his pillow.

"Hadrian is referring to the fact that the Quidditch House team tryouts are occurring today, and the Slytherin tryouts begin at ten. From the fact that it is presently nine o'clock, we only have an hour to get ready, eat breakfast, and make our way down to the Quidditch Pitch. Hence, the hurry to get you fools out of bed." Draco came up and stood beside Hadrian in the center of the dorm, surveying the ring of beds with a sneer. Only Hadrian and Draco had gotten up already; the rest of the boys were all in their pajamas, yawning from having just been woken up.

"I don't wanna go to tryouts," Theodore replied. "I'm no good anyways. You guys go, and I'll just go back to sleep." Theodore rolled over and started snoring, signaling that he had no interest at all in attending the Slytherin House tryouts.

Hadrian sighed. "Fine. Theo's out. Blaise, Vince, and Greg. Get outta bed and put on your clothes!"

Draco crossed his arms. "Hadrian, if they're so intent on just sleeping, we can always go by ourselves," he suggested, turning to stand over by the door. "We can't wait for them forever. Let's just go. They can come later if they want."

Hadrian looked at his friends and sighed. "Fine. But you guys better be there! If you're not trying out, at least come watch!"

"Hades, first-years never get on the team," Goyle muttered into his pillow. "You probably won't even be allowed to try out for the team. It's a waste of time."

Hadrian crossed his arms obstinately. "Whatever, Greg. You go sleep. We'll show you. Both Drake and I are gonna get on the team."

Crabbe snorted but didn't deny it, and Blaise just rolled over and snuggled deeper into his pile of blankets. Hadrian whirled around, his robes sweeping out behind him, and he and Draco climbed out of the portrait hall of the Common Room and made their way up to the Great Hall.

* * *

Entering the Great Hall, they were met with Hermione and Weasley, who were coming down for breakfast at the exact same time. Hadrian and Draco walked past without acknowledging either of them, heading over to the Slytherin table.

"Hadrian, wait," Hermione called from behind them. Hadrian stopped. Draco shook his head at Hadrian, warning him not to turn around, but Hadrian frowned. Draco sighed. He wouldn't be able to stop Hadrian, and they both knew it.

"What, Granger?" Hadrian replied coldly, turning to fix Weasley and Granger with a cold stare. "What do you want?"

Hermione winced at Hadrian's cold tone, but persevered. "We want to talk to you two," she said, indicating herself and Weasley. With a glance around at the Great Hall, at all the faces staring at them in curiosity and all the people listening in on their conversation at the entrance of the Great Hall, Hermione added, "Privately, that is."

Hadrian looked at Draco. As one, they nodded to each other at the same time. "Lead the way," they said in unison, their voices sounding at the same time to blend as one.

Hermione looked daunted by their identical movements, but she turned and dragged Weasley out of the Great Hall behind her. Draco and Hadrian followed behind, walking in step side by side. As soon as they turned out of the Great Hall, whisperings started from the rest of the students, as new rumors about the Princes of Slytherin's relation to the two Gryffindors were created and spread.

Hermione led them to a secluded corridor not far from the Great Hall. Turning, she looked at both Hadrian and Draco in turn, but didn't say anything.

"What is it?" Draco asked, his voice betraying nothing but a hint of impatience. "If you have nothing to say, then you're wasting our time."

"We have important things to be doing, Granger. Just tell us whatever it is you want to say," Hadrian added.

Hermione backed up a step at Hadrian and Draco's open hostility. Taking a deep breath, she appeared to gather her courage. "Ron wants to apologize," she said, her voice only shaking a bit. "And I do too. What Ron said to you two was unjustified and wrong, and he is sorry."

Hadrian snorted, and Draco sneered. "If he's so sorry, why doesn't he say it himself?" Draco challenged, fixing his stare on Weasley, who stood slightly behind Hermione and refused to meet either of their eyes.

"It doesn't seem as if he's sorry at all," Hadrian said. "He's not even looking at us."

Hermione turned on Weasley and dragged him forwards, making him stand in front of Hadrian and Draco. "Ron, apologize," she told him commandingly.

Weasley snorted and shook his head. "Why should I apologize to them?" he asked bitterly.

Hermione looked aghast. "Ron, you _promised. _You _said _that you would-" she began, but Weasley cut her off.

"Yeah, I said that I would apologize, until I realized that these bastards don't deserve it. You two were behind that cake explosion yesterday, weren't you?"

Hadrian lifted his chin and looked at Weasley with narrowed eyes. "So what if we were?" he asked.

"You did that on purpose. I was going to apologize, but then I realized that you two are nothing but two Snakes after all. Once somebody's no longer useful, you throw them away and treat them like all the other trash. You don't deserve an apology," Weasley spat. Hermione came up from behind him and grabbed his arm, but Weasley shook her off. "You two are _nothing,"_ Weasley finished, and stormed out of the corridor, dragging Hermione behind him, who was still clinging on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Hadrian, Draco. I'll get him to come around," Hermione said hastily before Weasley dragged her around the corner of the corridor and back to the Great Hall.

"This is his declaration of war, isn't it, Drake?" Hadrian asked stonily, looking after the backs of their friends, now enemies.

Draco snorted. "He can't do anything to us. We've nothing to be afraid of. Now let's get back to the Great Hall so we can eat something before the tryouts start."

Hadrian and Draco made their way back into the Great Hall just seconds after Hermione and Weasley. They turned in opposite directions in front of the doors to head to their own House tables, so for a moment Hermione and Weasley's backs were turned to Hadrian and Draco. Both of them shook their wands out of their sleeves, and, pointing them discreetly behind them so the Professors at the Head Table wouldn't see, they both shot a tripping jinx at the two Gryffindors.

Weasley fell first, colliding into a walking Hufflepuff with a plate full of food. The plate was thrown high in the air as the Hufflepuff fell under Weasley, and Hermione tripped to fall right over them both. The plate of food, which was full of porridge and oatmeal, landed upside down with a thwack on all three in the pile, spilling oatmeal all over their robes, the thick white fluid squelching as the three students struggled to get back up. The Hufflepuff started shouting at Weasley, who started shouting back. Hermione started screaming at both of them, and soon both the Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors were shouting over each other to see what all the commotion was about.

The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor side of the table erupted into an uproar, while the Ravenclaws and Slytherins observed the noisy rabble with disdain, continuing to chat amongst themselves in relative quiet of their side of the Hall. Hadrian and Draco made their way to their table and they grabbed a piece of toast each. High fiving, they smirked at each other. "Mission success," they said at the exact same time.

* * *

Hadrian and Draco emerged onto the Quidditch Pitch. It was a cool, sunny day, with just the slightest hint of a breeze in the air. It was a day perfect for flying.

"This is gonna be awesome," Hadrian shouted happily, raising his hands to shield his eyes from the sun and gazing up at the incredibly blue sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight. "We can do this, Drake. We're gonna make it into the House Team!"

Draco snorted and looked around the Pitch. The Slytherin tryouts were held first in the morning, with the Hufflepuff tryouts around noon, the Ravenclaw tryouts in the early afternoon, and the Gryffindors last. The Pitch was filled with tall, tough looking older Slytherins all hoping for a chance to get on the team; if you were on the team, you were practically guaranteed prestige and popularity. "Hades, stop looking at the sky. We've got to check out the competition."

Hadrian looked back down and quickly around he field. Suddenly, he grinned. "Hey, Terence!" he called, waving his arms in the air. Draco sighed. Apparently, Hadrian wasn't the checking out the competition type.

Terence Higgs looked around and, seeing Hadrian, smiled and waved back, jogging over to them both. "You guys are really trying out for the team? Seriously? I thought you two were joking when you said that."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "You'll see. We'll get on the team all right."

Terence looked surprised. "How're you so confident? First-years _never _get on the team. Like, it's just not done. Won't Madam Hooch tell you to leave?"

Hadrian shook his head. "Madam Hooch herself told us to come here today," he told Terence matter-of-factly. "She said so during flying lessons on Thursday, when we saved a kid from falling to his death."

A choked laugh came out of Terence's mouth. "I've heard the rumors about you two going around lately, but I didn't actually believe them. They're too ridiculously far-fetched to be real, but, now that you're actually confirming one of them, I guess they're all true, huh?"

"What rumors have you heard? I hope they're not bad," Hadrian said, frowning.

Draco smirked. "Bad? Hades, we're the best students in our grade. Of course those rumors aren't bad."

Terence fidgeted on the spot. "Well, most of them are just about you two being so good at everything that no one can match you guys. But there's this new rumor going around lately…"

"What is it?" Draco asked sharply. As a Malfoy, used to the attentions of the media and society in general, Draco knew all too well the power of a few words that are circulated through the populations.

"They're saying that you two have declared war on the Weasley," Terence said quietly, walking a few steps away from the other tryout participants. "They say that you two caused the cake to explode yesterday, and you were the ones who tripped them this morning. I saw the scene myself. Weasley just tripped into the Hufflepuff for no reason, and that bushy-haired girl tripped right along after him. It doesn't seem normal, don't you think?"

Draco snorted and tossed his head. "Yeah, we've declared war on Weasley. So what?"

Terence looked shocked. "What, so it's actually true? You two are doing all this? Why? Don't you know that you're going to get in so much trouble with the professors if you're found out? Fighting among students is strictly prohibited, especially the use of spells for making them miserable."

"Weasley started it first. We tried to be his friend, and then when he got jealous at us he started insulting and badmouthing us. It's not our fault we're retaliating. You can't expect us to take his words lying down," Draco said dismissively. "It wouldn't be fitting for us Malfoys. We have family pride to uphold, after all."

"Besides," Hadrian added, "We're not gonna get caught. What you heard were only rumors, and there's no solid proof. The professors can't do anything to us if they only have rumors to go by."

Terence shook his head at the two boys and let out a long, low whistle under his breath. "You two are incredible," he muttered. "First that thing on the train, then the whirlwind before Sorting, then you saved some kid during flying, and you're attending the Quidditch tryouts, and now you're warring against a Weasley. And it's only the second week of school."

Hadrian and Draco grinned up at Terence, and Terence gulped when their expressions looked exactly the same. "We're the Princes of Slytherin," they said together, "And you better not forget it."

Terence let out a weak laugh. "You bet I won't," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "You bet I won't."

A loud whistle blew behind Terence, and Madam Hooch's sharp voice could be heard in the sudden quiet of the Quidditch Pitch. "Quidditch tryouts for the Slytherin House team will now begin," she said to everyone gathered on the Pitch. "Please sort yourselves according to which position you are trying out for. Current House team players please come up to the front. You will be participating in the tryouts as well, if you want to keep your position in the current House team."

Terence looked down at Draco and Hadrian. "Sorry, I've gotta go. She said all current House players have to get up there in front. Say, which positions are you two trying out for?"

"Keeper," Draco answered immediately.

"Seeker," Hadrian said with a grin.

Terence grabbed Hadrian by the shoulder. "Then, Hades, you're gonna have to get up there with me. She said we have to sort each other by the positions you're trying out for. Draco, you'll have to go over there, where Miles Bletchley's standing. See that tall guy over there with the brown-blond hair, who's shouting Keeper? Go over and line up by that guy. Hadrian's gonna line up with me."

"Good luck, Drake," Hadrian said, holding his hand up for a high five.

"Don't you dare fail, Hades," Draco replied, slapping Hadrian's hand. They grinned at each other, before turning away and walking to their own lines.

"Hey, Terence," Hadrian said to the other boy, who was gathering the other prospective Seekers in a line behind them. "When do we actually go up in the air?"

Terence looked down at the dark-haired boy. His green eyes were shining with excitement, and Terence had to smile at the eager expression. "Well, the Chasers are up first for the tryouts, seeing as there are three positions to be filled. And then the Beaters are up, and then the Keepers will be tested against the selected Chasers, and finally we'll go up."

Hadrian's face fell slightly. "What, so we're last?" he asked, disappointment in his voice.

Terence laughed. "Yeah, we're last, but watching all the trials beforehand really gets you pumped up, you know? Don't worry; it won't take that long. The Seeker tryouts are usually the longest anyways, since we've gotta find the Snitch."

Sighing, Hadrian looked back to Madam Hooch, who was standing in front of the four lines of Chasers, Beaters, Keepers, and Seekers. The captain of the team, Marcus Flint, was standing beside her and glowering threateningly at the rest of the tryout participants. Hadrian frowned. He didn't like the way Flint was sneering at them. Flint was dangerous.

"Now that you're all in your lines, the Chasers, please come forward and mount your brooms. You're the first position to try out for the team," Madam Hooch directed. When the Chaser tryout participants were too slow to move, Marcus Flint suddenly stepped up.

"Get a move on, you bloody Chasers. Get your arse on your broom and get in the air," he roared at the group of students. The students, who were all at least in fifth year, hurriedly mounted their brooms and shot into the air, followed shortly by Marcus Flint himself, as he would be in the Chaser tryouts as well.

Hadrian suddenly noticed that everyone on the field, except for Draco and him, had a broom in their hands. That was because all the older students were allowed to bring their own brooms to school, while first-years were strictly prohibited. Meeting Draco's eyes from across the field, Hadrian knew Draco had figured out the same thing.

"Madam Hooch," Hadrian yelled across the field to her.

The hawk-eyed witch turned around at the sound of her name. Fixing her eyes on Hadrian, she nodded knowingly. "Ah, so you made it for the tryouts. I was starting to think you two wouldn't come."

Draco snorted loudly from the line of Keepers. "You wish, Madam Hooch. Of course we're going to come. This is the Quidditch team, after all."

"But Madam Hooch, since Drake and I are first years we don't have any brooms," Hadrian said to her, gesturing to all the other participants with their own brooms in their hands.

The other participants looked at both Hadrian and Draco when Hadrian said they were both first-year students.

"Hey, first-years aren't allowed on the team," an older Slytherin student shouted at them. "Get outta here, you twerps."

Draco glowered at the student, who was standing in the same lineup as him. "You're trying out for Keeper?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah. What of it?" the older student asked defensively.

Draco grinned. "Tell us to get outta here again after I beat your arse in the tryouts."

The student's face flushed red in outrage, and he advanced threateningly on Draco. "Say that again, kid," he challenged, his right hand going behind him to reach for his wand in his belt.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle. "Boys, stop it," she commanded imperiously, her yellow eyes flashing. "I am allowing the two first years to participate in the tryouts because of the superb flying they demonstrated to me on Thursday. If any of you have any objections, you will be disqualified from the tryouts for lack of proper sportsmanship and failure to follow directions as instructed to by a Professor. Do you understand?"

The field of participants quieted down until only a few grumbles were heard. "No matter," the older student who had challenged Draco muttered. "Those first-years aren't gonna do anything but make fools outta themselves anyways."

Madam Hooch turned back to Draco and Hadrian. "Boys, you will come with me and choose your broomsticks from the storage room next to the Pitch. As you two do not have your own, you will have to make do with using the school's for now. If you are selected to be a part of the House team, we will see about arranging for you two to receive your own broomsticks in time for the House playoffs."

Hadrian and Draco nodded at her, and followed her out of the Pitch to get their brooms from the school's broom shack. Behind them, the tryouts for Chasers continued, with Marcus Flint yelling directions and insults in the air above them.

When Hadrian and Draco returned, the tryouts for Chasers had finished and the Beaters were just about done as well. "Looks like the Keepers are going next," Draco said.

Hadrian nodded. "Kick that guy's arse, 'kay Drake?" he said, tilting his head towards the older student from earlier. "Show him we can't be beat."

Draco grinned. "Oh, I intend to," he said, his tone so quietly evil that Hadrian frowned and smacked Draco on the shoulder.

"Drake, if you kill the guy you'll be disqualified. You know that, right?"

Draco snorted at Hadrian and tossed his head. "Whoever said anything about killing him? I just intend to completely and utterly defeat him."

Shrugging, Hadrian turned back. "You'll get picked for sure."

Draco smiled. "As will you."

Madam Hooch walked back to the middle of the Pitch and blew her whistle. "That's it for the Beater tryouts," she announced, and all the players up in the air on their brooms came back down to the ground. "All Keepers, form a line. You will be tested one-by-one against the chosen Chasers in the team, and they will try to score a total of ten goals on you. You must block as many as you can, and the Keeper that blocks the most will be chosen for the team."

The Chasers already on the House team, which had already been decided earlier after the Chaser tryouts, mounted their brooms and zoomed up into the air. Marcus Flint, who played Chaser and was also the Captain, caught the Quaffle when Madam Hooch threw it up to him. Draco went over and joined the back of the Keeper's lineup, directly behind the older Slytherin boy who had made fun of them earlier. Hadrian gave Draco a thumbs-up, and then went to stand by Terence again.

The Chasers on the Slytherin House team were incredible. Fast and accurate, they were able to score plenty of goals without any difficulty on the Keepers who tried to block their way. The long line of Keepers gradually dwindled, with no one being able to block more than seven shots out of ten from the three Chasers.

The older boy in front of Draco was the only one able to block nine out of ten of the shots. After he came down from the air, the rest of the Slytherin team cheered for him, and he roared in pleasure. Turning to Draco, the older Slytherin smirked. "Beat that, first-year," he said.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Not bad. But you still have a long way to go." Draco mounted his broom and soared up before the older student could reply, leaving the other boy flushed with anger.

"Beat the crap outta that kid," the older Slytherin boy shouted up to the three Chasers.

Draco hovered in place in front of the three hoops. Watching the three Chaser's every movement, he slowed his breathing. Concentration was the key to playing Keeper; to know the Chaser's positions and to predict their movements.

Marcus Flint dashed forwards on his broom, the Quaffle under his arm, leaving the two other Chasers behind. Draco smirked. Flint was underestimating him, if he thought he could just come up and score by himself. Flint feinted towards the left goal, but Draco didn't move from his spot. If he took the bait, he wouldn't have time to get to the right goal to stop the Quaffle.

Seeing this, Flint scowled, and increased his speed. Lifting his arm and throwing with all his strength, he aimed right into the center of the right hoop. Draco jerked his broom around and snatched the ball from the air. The ball was going faster than he thought, though, and Draco had to use all his strength not to just drop the Quaffle. Wincing as the Quaffle smacked into his palm, Draco threw the ball back towards the three Chasers.

"That was shot one out of ten, successfully blocked," Draco heard Madam Hooch announce from underneath them on the ground of the Pitch.

Concentrating again, Draco saw that Flint was scowling again, and he grabbed the Quaffle from the Chaser who had caught it after Draco's throw. Draco raised his eyebrows. Apparently, Flint was stupid enough to try the same tactic twice.

Grinning like crazy, Draco knew that if this continued for the rest of the ten shots, he would be able to get the Keeper position no problem. Getting ready, Draco focused his eyes on Flint. He was zooming back towards the three hoops, and Draco tightened his grip on his broom, watching Flint's every move.

This time, Flint turned to the right hoop. Draco hovered in front of the middle hoop, keeping all three hoops protected just in case it was another feint. But Flint was serious this time, keeping up a straight path towards the right hoop. As soon as the ball left Flint's fingers in his throw, Draco dove down towards the right hoop and knocked the ball away with the end of his broomstick, sending the Quaffle sailing back to the three Chasers.

The rest of the shots got gradually more complicated. Flint realized that his one-on-one attack against Draco wasn't working, so the other two Chasers came into play. That proved to be more challenging, since their passing skills were above average and Draco had to keep an eye on all three players at once. The Slytherin players had a bunch of tactics and strategies, passing behind their backs so Draco wouldn't see, and going around from behind the hoops to score while Draco was turned around. But Draco kept his concentration, and above all he didn't hesitate.

"That was shot ten out of ten, successfully blocked," Madam Hooch said from the ground. "That totals ten out of ten shots successfully blocked. Keeper and Chasers, please come down."

Draco languidly drifted back down to the ground, and approached the older Slytherin from earlier. "Beat that," Draco said with a smirk, turning his back on the spluttering boy.

"Great job, Drake," Hadrian ran up, cheeks flushed and beaming. "You were amazing. Never saw a better Keeper in my life."

Draco smiled and clapped Hadrian on the back. "You're up next, Hades. Go get that Snitch."

Hadrian nodded and went back to his line. "The Seeker tryouts will now begin," Madam Hooch said to all the Seekers gathered there. "All Seekers will participate at the same time, and the Snitch will be released. The first Seeker to catch the Snitch will qualify."

The Seekers all nodded in understanding. "Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch instructed. The Seekers all did so, waiting for the start signal. "And, start!" Madam Hooch let out a long whistle, while the twenty or so Seeker tryout participants rushed into the air.

Hadrian went above the Pitch, higher than all the rest of the Seekers. He knew that in order to see the Snitch; being in high altitude was the best. The rest of the Seekers below him drifted around, looking around themselves. But from Hadrian's vantage point, he could see the entire field.

Terence came up beside Hadrian. "Hey, good luck, Hadrian," the older boy said cheerfully. Hadrian looked up and smiled.

"Thanks. Aren't you trying as well, though?" he asked, confused as to why Terence would be wishing him luck when they were rivals.

Terence shook his head. "I told you during the Opening Banquet, right? I don't want to be Seeker anymore. I have O.W.L.'s this year. I'm only at the tryouts because all former team members have to be present."

Hadrian shrugged. "I still don't understand why you'd want to _study_ rather than play Quidditch," he muttered. "But I guess it's your choice."

Terence nodded. "Draco really was something, wasn't he?" Terence said admiringly. "He's just a first-year, but – Hey Hadrian! Where're you going?"

Hadrian had aimed his broom down in a steep dive. He'd seen the flash of gold that signaled the appearance of the Snitch, and he was determined to get it before any of the other Seekers realized where it was. "Sorry, Terence," Hadrian called back, "I'll talk to you later." Keeping his eyes fixed on the elusive little golden ball, Hadrian zoomed through the other Seeker participants, knocking into a few.

"Sorry," Hadrian called back over his shoulder, not taking his eyes away from the Snitch three meters in front of him. By now, most of the other Seekers had realized that Hadrian had seen the Snitch, and were following behind him in hot pursuit. Hadrian grimaced.

The Snitch darted around, but Hadrian never once lost sight of it. He could tell most of the other Seekers hadn't even seen the Snitch yet, from the way they just blindly followed his movements and sometimes were just a second later than him to react to a directional change. There was only one boy, a fifth year, who kept pace with Hadrian.

"Get away, first-year. That Snitch is mine," the boy grumbled.

Hadrian narrowed his eyes. "In your dreams." He pushed his broom to go even faster, pulling ahead of the other boy. The Snitch was just within reach, and the other boy and him were side-by-side, both competing to get it first.

The fifth year laughed. "Go back to the Junior Quidditch League, kid," he said. "This game here's for adults." The fifth year reached out his arm for the Snitch. Hadrian's eyes widened when he saw that the older boy's arms were longer than him, and for the other boy, the Snitch was within reach.

But Hadrian wasn't about to let the other boy get the Snitch. He was going to be Seeker; he was going to win. Leaning forwards on his broom, Hadrian got onto his knees on the broom handle and reached forwards as well. Grinning when the older boy gasped in surprise to see that Hadrian's reach matched his own, Hadrian reached even farther for the Snitch.

The other boy's eyes narrowed. "Oh, no you don't," Hadrian heard him mutter, just before the other boy crashed his broom into Hadrian's.

The collision caused Hadrian, who was already perched recklessly on his knees on the broom, to lose his balance and tumbled forwards, his hands grasping at air and his mouth open in surprise. The other boy, who had misjudged the force of the collision, tumbled off his own broom and fell to the ground. Thankfully, they were both just a few feet or so above the soft sands of the Pitch ground, so the boy wasn't injured. Hadrian continued to tip forwards on his broom, until he finally fell off and face first into the sand of the Pitch.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle loudly. "Stop, stop!" Hadrian heard her call as she rushed forwards towards him and the fifth year boy. Hadrian groaned and rolled over, wiping sand out of his eyes.

"Hades, are you ok? Hadrian, say something. Does anything hurt? Is anything broken? Hadrian, look at me!" Draco's voice penetrated Hadrian's ears, and Hadrian could feel Draco's hands poking him everywhere, checking for damage.

"Get off, Drake," Hadrian groaned, talking through the lump in his throat. "You're acting like a flustered mother."

A few boys who had heard Hadrian's comment snickered, but Draco ignored them. Getting Hadrian to sit up, Draco looked worriedly at the dark-haired boy. "We all saw that fifth year bump into you," Draco said. "Don't worry, he's disqualified for sure. You're not out of the tryouts yet, Hades."

Hadrian wasn't listening. The lump in his throat was moving, making him gag. "Hadrian?" Draco asked when Hadrian started coughing. "Hadrian, what's wrong?"

Hadrian waved Draco away. If he was going to puke, he wasn't about to do it on somebody else. Getting shakily to his feet, Hadrian walked a few feet away and put his hands over his mouth. The lump really was coming out of his mouth, and with a final cough Hadrian spat out the lump that had been lodged in his throat into his outstretched hands.

"Hadrian, what-" Draco came up beside him, worry and alarm on his face, but when Draco saw the thing in Hadrian's hands his expression melted into a grin.

"Madam Hooch! Madam Hooch!" Draco called loudly to the witch, where she was checking the groaning fifth year boy. "Hadrian caught the Snitch! Hadrian's got the Snitch!"

Madam Hooch immediately whirled around and approached them. Looking down at the Snitch in Hadrian's hands, she smiled down at them and blew her whistle. "The tryouts are over! The Snitch has been caught! The Slytherin House team is decided!" she called towards all the participants on the field and the Seekers who were still up in the air.

Once everybody was all lined up again, Madam Hooch took out a sheet of parchment from her robes and a Quick Notes Quill. "The Slytherin House team members are as follows; the Captain, Marcus Flint. Chasers are Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey, and Graham Montague. Beaters are Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole. Keeper is Draco Malfoy, and Seeker is Hadrian No-Last-Name. Good luck in the House Tournament."

Hadrian and Draco cheered with the rest of the official Slytherin team, while the participants who didn't make it glumly picked up their brooms and left the Pitch. Madam Hooch walked up to Draco and Hadrian. "Well done, boys. I'm surprised you actually made it. Now, write to your parents and see about getting yourselves some real brooms. I'll clear it with the Headmaster, since first-years usually aren't allowed their own brooms."

Hadrian and Draco both nodded at the witch, and she strode off the Pitch, blowing her whistle at the Hufflepuff tryout participants who were already arriving on the Pitch. Hadrian and Draco grinned widely and high-fived.

Pansy and Blaise suddenly appeared out of nowhere, rushing up beside the two. "Congratulations!" Pansy cheered, dragging Blaise along behind her.

Hadrian looked at Pansy and Blaise in surprise. "What are you two doing here?" he asked.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Hadrian, I said that we would come watch, didn't I? And since Blaise was still sleeping, I had to drag him all the way here, which was why we couldn't see you guys earlier. You two were amazing, Hades, Draco."

Draco smirked. "It was nothing," he proclaimed arrogantly. Pansy ignored him.

"Thanks, Pans," Hadrian said happily. "Although I think Blaise is sleeping on his feet. He really isn't a morning person." Indeed, Blaise really was snoring softly, staggering around and only kept upright by Pansy's tight grip on his arm. Pansy gave him a smack on the head to wake him up.

"What? Where? Huh?" Blaise asked incoherently, blinking around him with sleepy eyes. "Why're we on the Quidditch Pitch? Where's my blanket?"

Pansy and Hadrian laughed at Blaise, while Draco just sighed and rolled his eyes. Blaise finally woke up enough to recognize the people standing around him. Frowning, Blaise tilted his head. "What happened?" he asked fuzzily.

Pansy smacked him again when he looked to be about to go back to sleeping on his feet. "Hadrian and Draco just made the House team, you dimwit," she said, obviously irritated by Blaise's lack of attention.

"Hmm. That's nice," Blaise mumbled, his words trailing off in a snore. Pansy scowled.

"I think you should take him back up to bed, Pans. He's not gonna survive any more of your smacks," Hadrian suggested. "We'll see you guys at dinner. We can talk then."

Pansy nodded in defeat. "Well, I just want you to know that you two really were amazing. Better than all those other students."

Draco smiled at her. "We're not the Princes for nothing." Pansy laughed and dragged Blaise away, Blaise staggering after her. After a while, Hadrian and Draco followed after them back to the castle.

"We're on the team," Hadrian hollered proudly.

"And we'll have to write to Mother and Father about this. See if we can't make them buy us some Nimbuses as congratulations," Draco decided, sneering at the broom he had borrowed in his hand. "These Hogwarts brooms just aren't fit for playing Quidditch."

"Yep," Hadrian agreed, nodding. "Let's go to the Owlery. We've got _so_ much to tell them."

* * *

**Author's Note:** No, I did not die and leave this story hanging. All my exams are over and I have plenty of free time now, so this is an extra long chapter. Hope you like it As always, please review!


	12. Halloween

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Monday morning was a quiet affair. Hadrian and Draco both walked into the Great Hall, earlier than most of the other students as usual. Sitting down at the Slytherin table, they saw that none of their friends had arrived yet.

"I hate Mondays," Hadrian yawned as he grabbed some pancakes from a serving plate. "Mondays are always so slow."

Draco nodded absent-mindedly, spreading butter over his English muffin. "I know. None of the students are properly focused on Mondays, and the lessons are even more boring than usual."

Hadrian splashed syrup on his pancakes, licking it off his fingers when it dripped. "We've already learned everything in our textbooks, and now it's really useless to even attend classes," he said glumly, cutting himself a piece of pancake and putting it in his mouth. "Besides, we haven't seen Weasley around either, so we can't prank him at all. That's just no fun."

"I think he's hiding out in the Gryffindor Common Room," Draco said. "It's not normal for us not to see him at all during the weekend. Perhaps he's afraid of us now."

Hadrian smirked. "Serves him right," he said nastily. But then he sighed. "But since Weasley isn't around, there's nothing to do. Homework's no problem, and Quidditch practice is only three times a week."

Shrugging, Draco took a large bite of his muffin. "I wonder if Mother and Father have gotten our letters from Saturday yet. They haven't replied, which I find is pretty strange. They're usually ecstatic about our letters, and respond right away."

As soon as Draco finished his sentence, the morning mail came in with a flurry of flapping and feathers. Hadrian looked up and stared at the owls, not really expecting anything. When he saw a flash of white and black flying together, though, he sat up and poked Draco excitedly, pointing up at the owls. "Hey, look, Drake. They _have _replied. See? There are Hedwig and Sabor."

The two owls, distinct even in the mass of flying birds, soared over the ceiling of the Great Hall, heading directly for where Hadrian and Draco sat at the Slytherin table. Hadrian frowned. "Hey Drake, what are they carrying?"

Draco looked up and squinted. Hadrian's eyesight, as a Seeker, was much better than that of normal people. But even Draco could see the large packages that their two owls were both carrying. In fact, the two packages were so large that Hedwig and Sabor couldn't even carry them by themselves; two other barn owls were helping them carry the packages.

"Whose owls are those?" Draco asked, gesturing at the two barn owls.

Hadrian shook his head. "I've never seen them before. Maybe Mother and Father hired some owl delivery post owls? But what on earth could they be sending us that would require more than two owls to carry? I hope it's not another box of sweets."

Draco snorted. "I don't believe Mother and Father would be so foolish as to send their children yet another pile of sweets so soon after sending them the first box," he said. "After all, they must know that sweets really are bad for us."

Hedwig, Sabor, and the two barn owls swooped in down above Hadrian and Draco, dropping their large packages down on the table in front of them. Hedwig and Sabor flapped down to land on the backs of the two boys' chairs, while the two barn owls flew away as soon as their package was delivered. There was a tag attached to both of the packages, folded in half. Hadrian took the package that had landed in front of him and opened the tag. On it, in large, neat script, was written _DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE._

Draco looked at the tag on his package as well, and it said the same thing. Hadrian and Draco looked at each other, and shrugged. "Any idea what these are?" Hadrian asked, inspecting the long thin paper-wrapped item.

Draco picked it up and felt it, running his hands along the sides of the package to check the item's dimensions. Suddenly, he looked up at Hadrian with gleaming eyes. "They're broomsticks," he said quietly, so nobody else at the table or in the Great Hall could hear. They had already attracted enough attention with the four large birds flying in holding the two packages, which were larger than all the rest.

Hadrian's face split in a wide grin. "Broomsticks?" he whispered in excitement. "Do you think they're-"

"From Mother and Father after receiving our letter on Saturday? Yes, I do think so," Draco responded, finishing Hadrian's thought.

"Let's go down to the dorms. Put them there, so we can open them after classes," Hadrian decided. Draco nodded, and the two boys picked up their wrapped broomsticks and hurried out of the Great Hall.

In the entrance hall, the two boys found their way barred by Weasley, with Hermione standing uncertainly some ways behind him. "Good morning, Hermione," Hadrian said cheerfully, completely ignoring Weasley's presence. Weasley scowled.

Seizing the package that Hadrian held in his hands, Weasley felt it. "That's a broomstick," Weasley said, throwing it back to Hadrian with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You two are carrying broomsticks."

Draco sneered. "So what, Weasley? Haven't you ever seen a broomstick before? Oh, wait. You're family's so poor that you probably have to save up twig by twig."

Weasley glowered. "You'll really be in for it this time, you two. You may have gotten away with your pranks so far, but not this. First-years aren't allowed broomsticks."

Hadrian stuck his nose in the air. "And who says that we aren't allowed?" he asked smugly.

"It's in the school rules," Weasley answered, confusion starting to make his tone waver at Hadrian and Draco's confidence.

Draco smirked. "We're above those petty school rules," he said.

Weasley glowered, but before he could answer Professor Flitwick appeared at Weasley's elbow. "Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.

"Malfoy and Hadrian have both got broomsticks, Professor," Weasley said quickly.

"Yes, yes. That's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Hadrian and Draco. "Madam Hooch told me all about the special circumstances. Professor Snape is also very proud. Say, do you know what model it is yet, boys?"

Hadrian grinned and shook his head at the professor. "No, we only got them this morning in the Great Hall, Professor Flitwick," he said politely. "We were instructed not to open them at the Slytherin Table, so we decided to take them down to our dormitories and open them after classes."

Professor Flitwick nodded brightly. "Well, let's not detain you any longer. Come along, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. I understand that you two haven't had breakfast yet, right? I heard that there's some superb bacon this morning."

Hadrian and Draco smothered their laughter at the look of horror on Weasley's face. "See you, Hermione," Hadrian called. Hermione looked around and waved tentatively at them both, before Weasley dragged her back around.

That night, Hadrian and Draco bolted their dinner and rushed down to their dormitories in the dungeons before Blaise and Pansy had even entered the Great Hall. Running past them in the entrance hall, Blaise called after them, "Hey Hades, Draco! Where're you off to so fast?"

"You'll see," they called back, leaving Blaise confused and wondering whether they'd chosen some new target for their pranks.

Draco and Hadrian took their brooms out from under their beds, where they'd put them that morning. Draco started tearing into his wrapper immediately, when a letter dropped out from among the discarded wrappings.

"Hey, Drake. Wait. What's this?" Hadrian picked up the letter and read the back. On it, in Narcissa's writing, was penned both their names_._

Hadrian opened the letter and Draco stopped unwrapping his broom to go over and sit beside Hadrian on his bed. Unfolding the parchment, Hadrian and Draco both read together;

_Hadrian and Draco_

_Lucius and I are very proud to hear of your Quidditch success. Madam Hooch has also informed us that you two would be needing some new broomsticks soon, and your Father and I have decided that you deserve nothing but the best. We got you both those Nimbus 2000's that you've been wanting for a long time. Congratulations, and continue doing well. _

_Love,_

_Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy_

Hadrian and Draco gaped at the letter. "Nimbus 2000's," Hadrian whooped, darting over and tearing the paper off his new broomstick. "Can you believe this, Drake?"

Draco was also tearing apart the wrapping on his own broomstick, grinning like crazy. "We'll have the best brooms in Hogwarts for sure," Draco proclaimed, sighing in pleasure as his broom rolled out of the paper wrappings onto his bed.

Hadrian's broom also dropped onto his mattress with a thump. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. The high-class broomstick looked perfect as it lay against the background of the green and silver Slytherin sheets.

"We're gonna be awesome with this," Hadrian said, stroking the polished handle of his new broom.

Draco nodded. "Slytherin'll win the Quidditch Cup for sure this year. We'll make certain of that."

Hadrian and Draco looked at each other across their broomsticks and grinned. High fiving, they both grabbed their brooms and held it high above their heads. "We're the Slytherin Princes, after all," they said together, their determined expressions exactly the same.

XXX

What with classes, homework, Quidditch practice, and pranking Weasley all piling up for them, two months quickly flew by. By now, Draco and Hadrian were well known by all the students at Hogwarts, even the ones in the other Houses and years. Things couldn't have been better. Though they'd already mastered all the first-year material, Hadrian and Draco found their lessons, especially Potions and Transfiguration and Charms, to become increasingly interesting as they started experimenting with spells and theories after the other first-years had covered the basics.

On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that they were ready to start making objects fly, something the class had all been dying to try after they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice, and, naturally, Draco and Hadrian were put together as the two brightest pupils in the class.

They'd both already mastered the levitation charm, but it was a perfect opportunity to play some tricks. Over on the other side of the classroom, Weasley was working with Hermione on the charm. "_Wingardium Leviosa!" _Weasley shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill. The feather stayed stationary on the desk surface.

"You're saying it wrong," Hadrian heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-_gar-_dium Levi -_o-_sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it then, if you're so clever," Weasley snarled at her. Hadrian frowned. That was no way to treat his friend. Hadrian nudged Draco to get his attention.

"Let's play a trick with Weasley's feather, Drake," Hadrian whispered. Draco nodded immediately and turned his attention away from their feathers, which were floating above their desks in a perfectly executed levitation charm.

After Hermione said the spell, the feather lifted off their desk and hovered about four feet above their heads, and Hermione turned to look smugly at Weasley. Weasley glowered and snatched the feather down from the air.

Placing it on the table, Weasley rolled up the sleeves of his robes and flicked his wand. "_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

At the same time, on the other side of the classroom, Hadrian took out his wand and pointed it at Weasley's feather. "_Wingardium Leviosa," _he whispered. Draco smirked.

Weasley's spell was ineffective, which came as no surprise to either Draco or Hadrian, but with Hadrian's spell, the feather lifted nicely off the table. But nobody else knew that. To the rest of the class, it was Weasley that had done it.

Weasley looked at the floating feather in surprise, but, turning to Hermione, he smirked. "See, Hermione? You're not the only one who can do it."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Hadrian moved his wand.

The feather followed the movement of Hadrian's wand, and Weasley's eyes widened when he saw that his feather was floating away without any direction from himself. "Hey, wait," Weasley called after the feather, trying to grab it out of the air again. Hadrian made the feather dart out of Weasley's grasp, and made it float over to where Professor Flitwick was standing on his pile of books.

Weasley looked with alarm as the feather floated up to Professor Flitwick's face. The tiny professor looked up at the feather in front of him, and then at Weasley holding his wand at the feather in the desk in front of him. "Oh, well done, Mr. Weasley!" Professor Flitwick said, clapping. "You wanted to show me you'd done it, right?"

Weasley laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. That's right, Professor."

Professor Flitwick nodded, but just then the feather moved again. Using the fluffy feather, Hadrian grinned as he tickled the Professor on the neck, behind the ears, all over. Professor Flitwick fell off his stack of books, laughing, while the feather continued to tickle him without mercy.

"Mr. Weasley, please stop this instant," Professor Flitwick gasped out between giggles. The entire class dissolved into laughter, Draco and Hadrian joining along, with only Weasley's horrified face in the midst of the classroom.

"But Professor, I don't know how to stop it," Weasley cried with alarm, waving his wand all over the place in an attempt to stop the feather.

Professor Flitwick, by now rolling over the floor in an attempt to escape the tickling feather, squeaked. "Mr. Weasley, I don't want any more of your jokes. Stop the feather this instant or I will have to give you detention."

Hermione went over and snatched the wand from Weasley's fingers. Immediately, Hadrian stopped the spell on the feather, letting it drift gently back down on the ground in a pretense that the spell had been ended. Hermione sighed. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" she snapped at Weasley.

"It wasn't me!" Weasley cried, holding his hands up in surrender. "I swear, that feather wasn't doing that because I wanted to!"

The class snickered. All they saw were the futile objections of a student who had been caught in a prank.

Professor Flitwick picked himself up off the floor and straightened out his robes. "Nonsense, Mr. Weasley," he said in his high voice. "You cast the levitation charm on that feather, which means that you had control over that feather's movements. This is unacceptable. Detention with me on Friday after dinner."

Weasley protested, but Hermione shut him up with a jab in the ribs. "Be happy you're only getting a detention, Ron," Hermione said with her nose in the air. "You're lucky not to have been expelled."

Hadrian and Draco grinned and high-fived in their seat at the back of the class. "Mission success," they whispered together.

XXX

That night, Hadrian and Draco joined all the other students down in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. The Hall was completely decorated with Halloween themed decorations, jack-o-lanterns replacing the regular torches on the walls. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start of term banquet.

"Hey, Hades, Draco!" Blaise called from the middle of the Slytherin table, waving them over. Hadrian and Draco went and sat across from him, with Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle sitting close on either side of Blaise.

"What's new?" Blaise asked, helping himself to a bowl of mashed potatoes.

"How's Quidditch going?" Pansy asked, chewing delicately on a forkful of shepherd's pie.

Crabbe and Goyle just continued to stuff their faces with food, not really paying attention to the conversation.

"Nothing's really going on," Hadrian said dismissively, grabbing a warm roll from a basket close to where he sat. "Things are normal."

Draco snickered. "Well things may be normal, but we know for a fact that Weasley's got detention Friday night."

Blaise raised his eyebrows. "You know for a fact? What'd he do?"

Hadrian grinned. "Assaulted a teacher with a feather using the levitation charm," he answered, chewing on his roll.

Pansy pursed her lips. "You two wouldn't have anything to do with that, right?" she asked lightly.

Hadrian and Draco both adopted the same expression of utmost innocence. "Of course not," they said together. Blaise laughed.

"Besides," Hadrian added, "It's not like anybody's gonna catch us. There's no proof, and we have the advantage of being known as good students. Teachers never suspect good students."

Blaise was just about to respond when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Draco and Hadrian looked at each other. "Hey, aren't the Slytherin dormitories in the dungeons?" Hadrian asked casually, finishing the last of his roll.

"It seems the Headmaster wants us Slytherins to go to the exact place where Quirrell says the troll is. It's not a very well thought out plan, is it?" Draco sighed, putting his fork down and dabbing at his lips with his napkin. The rest of the students were all clambering out of the Hall as fast as they can, while Hadrian and Draco sat calmly at their table, leisurely chatting about the fact that a troll had gotten into the school.

"Hades, Draco, come on, let's _go," _Blaise shouted at them from the other side of the table, getting up quickly and joining the stream of Slytherins following their Prefects out of the Hall. "If you don't wanna get eaten by the troll, _move it_."

"It seems the rest of our fellow House members do not yet realize the gap in the Headmaster's plan," Hadrian remarked, getting up to his feet and throwing his napkin on the table beside his plate.

"It would seem so," Draco agreed, straightening out his robes.

Sighing, Hadrian hung his head. "Whatever shall we do with these obtuse students of this school, Drake?" he asked.

Draco smirked. "What do you think we should do, oh esteemed master of pranks and wily tricks?"

Hadrian lifted his head and smirked. "Oh, we should teach them a lesson that they'll never forget."

Following the rest of the Slytherin house down the steps into the dungeons, Hadrian and Draco dispersed among the students, whispering ghost stories about the troll into students' ears. Scaring them with loud noises and sudden screams that the troll was coming, Hadrian and Draco contributed to the mass panic that was already going on.

"It seems that everybody really is afraid of that troll," Hadrian said, laughing, when he and Draco regrouped.

Draco shrugged. "Well, it's understandable. Besides, how on earth did a troll get in to the school in the first place? Isn't there supposed to be wards to prevent this sort of thing?"

"I have no idea," Theodore Nott said from Draco's other side, where he'd overheard their conversation. "Trolls are supposed to be really stupid. Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."

Hadrian snorted, looking down a dark hallway in the dungeons. Frowning, Hadrian saw his godfather walking quickly down the unlit corridor, instead of escorting the Slytherin House students like he was supposed to. With a flap of his cloak, Severus disappeared around the corner.

Grabbing Draco's arm, Hadrian ran to catch up with Severus. Theodore shouted after them, but was soon swept along in the tide of Slytherin students trying to reach their Common Room before the troll got them.

"What're you doing, Hades?" Draco whispered as they rounded the corner Severus had earlier.

"Severus just came this way," Hadrian whispered back. "I want to see what he's doing."

Hadrian and Draco followed Severus at a discreet distance as Severus made his way out of the dungeons and up the stairs of the castle, making sure that they wouldn't be spotted by Severus' sharp eyes. Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Severus' fading footsteps.

"He's heading for the third floor," Draco said, pointing at the moving stairs. Hadrian held up his hand, frowning.

"Can you smell something?"

Draco sniffed and a foul stench reached him, permeating the entire hallway. It was a mixture of old socks and unclean toilet. And then they heard it; a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Hadrian pointed to the end of the passage. To the left, something huge was moving toward them. Hadrian and Draco flattened themselves against the wall behind a statue of a hippogriff, watching the shadow approach from between the gaps in the statue's legs until it emerged into a patch of moonlight.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

"Wasn't the troll supposed to be in the dungeons?" Draco asked. "How did it get up here?"

Hadrian shrugged. "Perhaps the troll is smarter than one would give it credit for."

Draco snorted out in a laugh, but Hadrian clapped a hand over his mouth before he could make much sound.

"Quiet, Drake. You don't want that thing to notice us. That's not just any troll," Hadrian whispered.

"It's a mountain troll, the most vicious of its kind," Draco finished quietly, nodding in understanding and peeling Hadrian's fingers from his mouth.

The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room. Hadrian and Draco blinked.

"So, do we go after Severus, or after the troll?" Hadrian asked.

Draco looked at the doorway in which the troll had entered. "The key's in the lock," Draco whispered. "We could lock the troll in, go after Severus, and then report to the teachers later that the troll's in here."

Hadrian nodded. "Good idea."

They edged towards the open door, and Hadrian kept a lookout inside the room from the doorway to make sure the troll wasn't coming back out while Draco grabbed the key, slammed the door, and locked it.

Hadrian and Draco hurried down the hall in the direction Severus had gone, but before they could round the corner a high, petrified scream echoed from the chamber that they'd just locked the troll in.

Hadrian whirled around. "No way. Somebody's _in there?"_ he asked in exasperation.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I just remembered. That's the girls' bathroom. Some girl was probably in there during the announcement in the Great Hall."

Hadrian ran back to the door and held out his hand to Draco for the key. "We have to get her out of there. Who knows, that troll might even kill her!"

Draco sighed. "Fine. But if that troll kills us instead of the girl just because your hero complex kicked in and you went in to save her, I'm gonna kill you in the afterlife, Hadrian. No joke. I will hunt you down."

Hadrian laughed. "That makes no sense, Drake," he said, taking the key from Draco's hand and opening the door.

They snuck into the room, keeping close to the walls so the troll was less likely to notice them. Thankfully, the troll's back was turned as it advanced on the girl, who was cowering against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was stomping towards her, knocking sinks off walls as it went.

The girl had her hands over her face, covering her eyes, but Hadrian caught a glimpse of bushy brown hair. "_Hermione?"_ he yelled in surprise.

Hermione jerked upright, and looked with wide eyes at Hadrian and Draco, standing against the far wall behind the troll that was getting closer with every step. "Hades! Draco!" she screamed, tears rolling down her face. Even from across the bathroom, Hadrian could see that she was trembling.

Hadrian's eyes darted around, trying to find a way to stop the troll. "Confuse it!" he yelled to Draco, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall. Draco cast a bunch of flares in the air with his wand, following Hadrian's lead and trying to attract as much attention as possible.

The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Hadrian, standing next to the wall, getting soaking wet because of the water spraying from the broken sinks. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Hermione, come towards us along the walls while the troll's occupied with Hades," Draco ordered, holding out his hands. Hadrian slowly backed away from the advancing troll as Draco tried to get Hermione, keeping an eye on both the troll and Hermione.

Hermione couldn't move; she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror. Draco glanced at the troll, whose attention was still focused on Hadrian, and quickly ran to Hermione's side. "Come on, run, _run!"_ Draco yelled at her, trying to pull her toward the door. She didn't budge from her spot by the wall. "You stupid little mudblood, _move it!"_ Draco roared, grabbing a fistful of her hair in his hands and dragging her to her feet. Finally, some semblance of awareness returned to Hermione's eyes, and she grabbed on to Draco's arm.

By then, the troll had trapped Hadrian in the other corner of the bathroom. "Hades!" Draco shouted with alarm, immediately heading over to Hadrian's side.

"Stop, Draco!" Hadrian yelled, holding up his hand. Draco stopped. "Stay there, I'll get to where you are."

The troll lifted up its club to strike. Draco rushed forwards again, but was stopped in his tracks with a single glance from Hadrian. Hermione was whimpering as she watched the troll raise the club, but Draco's eyes were fixed only on the dark-haired wizard facing the beast. Hadrian's green eyes were blazing with determination, and his stance was set. "Go for it, Hades," Draco cheered, his voice trembling. Draco hoped with everything he had that Hadrian really had a plan, or else the troll's club would strike him for sure.

Hadrian grinned. "Of course, Drake. When haven't I?" he asked with a wink. The troll's club came down.

It was too fast. The troll smashed the heavy club down onto the spot where Hadrian had just been standing, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. Shards of broken ceramic tiling and stone bricks flew everywhere, and Draco had to lift up his arm to protect his face. Hermione did the same, and as the dust cleared, it revealed the troll, standing with his club smashed into the ground, turning its little head to fix its eyes on them.

"Hadrian!" Draco shouted, frantically looking around for any sign of the other boy.

"Here," Hadrian called. Draco looked down at his feet, where Hadrian lay grinning, his robes covered with white powder from the crushed ceramic. "Told you I'd go for it, right, Drake?" he said with a laugh, rubbing his head and wincing. "Jeez. Diving in between the troll's legs was not the best idea I'd ever had, but at least it worked, right?"

Draco almost collapsed then and there. "This is no time to be laughing, you bloody idiot," he said, helping Hadrian up. The troll had refocused its attention on all three of them, and was lifting its club up, marching towards the three of them for another strike. "The thing's coming towards us." Draco heard his voice end with a waver, and he clenched his hands to keep them from shaking. Hermione, who was still clinging onto his arm as if it were a lifeline, was quiet for once, but Draco could feel her trembling. It only added more to Draco's own terror.

Hadrian glanced over at the troll and dusted himself off. "Don't worry. I've got a plan," he said flippantly, shaking some pieces of broken sink out of his hair. Draco felt himself start shaking as well as the troll approached. It was twelve feet tall, but now it looked to be over twenty.

"Hadrian, do something," Draco whispered, unable to tear his eyes off of the beast hulking closer to them with every booming step.

Draco felt his ice-cold hand taken into a warm grip. Looking into Hadrian's familiar green eyes, Draco felt himself calm down. "Draco, we're gonna shoot stunners at the troll, ok? Aim for the head, since I think the stomach would repel the spells with all the fat that the thing has 'round its middle."

Draco couldn't speak, so he nodded in understanding. "On the count of three," Hadrian said.

Draco swallowed. "One," he said hoarsely, aiming his wand at the troll's head. His wand hand was trembling, but Draco did his best to keep it steady.

"Three," Hadrian yelled. "_Stupefy."_

The two jets of red light flashed towards the troll's head, hitting dead center on its forehead. The thing blinked for a moment, seemingly confused, but didn't go down. "Che," Hadrian spat. "Magical creatures have resistance to magic, after all. Almost forgot that. One more time, Draco. Now."

Two stunners flew from the boys' wands again, one hitting the troll's eye and the other his nose this time. The troll roared in rage as the spells collided with its face again, but it stumbled back. "Great, Draco. We're pushing it back. One more time, this time use the reductor curse."

Draco nodded, and they both yelled, "_Reducto." _The twin spells flew at the troll's face, exploding on its tiny bald head. Blood splattered everywhere, and the troll fell to its knees.

Draco, shocked out of his fear, scrambled back, pulling Hadrian and Hermione back with him. "Get out of the way," he cried. "The troll's coming down."

They made it just in time. The troll landed right in front of them. If they'd been just a second later, they would have been squashed under the troll.

It was Hermione who spoke first. "Is it – dead?"

Hadrian bent down and looked at the troll's face. Though hit by two reductor curses at the same time, not to mention four stunners, the troll was still breathing. It had a few scratches on its face, but otherwise looked as if it would be completely fine after it'd woken up.

"No, I don't think so," said Hadrian. "It's just been knocked out for now."

"Thank Merlin," Draco breathed, sagging against the wall in relief. Hermione sunk to the floor with a huff.

"Thank you, Hades, Draco," Hermione said, her tears starting up again. "You saved my life."

Hadrian chuckled and sat down by the wall next to where Draco was standing, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall. "Call it an apology," he said softly, "For dragging you into our pranks with Weasley."

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Severus, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Severus limped up and bent over the troll, inspecting it with narrowed eyes. "It's alive," he informed McGonagall tersely. Hadrian and Draco got up and stood straight. They had been bred and raised as purebloods, and etiquette forbade them to just lounge around and lean against walls in the presence of their Professors. Even if they were dead tired and half drunk on relief, they would follow their pureblood code to the letter.

McGonagall was looking at Draco and Hadrian. Her lips were white, and she was almost shaking with palpable wrath. "What on earth were you thinking of?" asked Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Severus looked Hadrian in the eyes, and Hadrian raised his eyebrows, glancing down at his godfather's leg. Hadrian hadn't missed the limp from earlier, and Severus knew he'd be curious. But Severus dismissed the silent question with a swift shake of his head, turning away from his godson, and Hadrian was left frowning, with more questions than ever.

McGonagall was still waiting for an answer. Draco began to say something, but Hadrian elbowed him to be quiet. Severus was hiding the reason why he'd been going up to the third floor, which meant that blabbing it out to McGonagall as their excuse was probably a bad idea.

Then a small voice came out of the shadows. "Please, Professor McGonagall, they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had managed to get to her feet, though she was holding the wall for support. "I was absent from the Great Hall during dinner, so I suppose I missed the announcement that a troll had gotten in," she said weakly. "Hades and Draco are my friends, and you must know already that they're the most outstanding students in our year."

Hadrian almost staggered in surprise, and he felt Draco stiffen beside him. Hermione Granger, openly admitting to three professors that Hadrian and Draco were better than her?

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. They didn't have time to go and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

McGonagall aimed here eyes at the two boys, who were still standing straight and looking at her with serious expressions. "Is this true?" she demanded. Hadrian saw Severus watching him from the corner of his eye, and gave the man a small thumbs-up behind his back, out of sight from McGonagall.

Nodding, Hadrian and Draco said, "Yes, Professor," at the same time. McGonagall watched them with narrowed eyes.

"I've heard the rumors about you two," she said seriously. "And I don't believe for a second that this is the entire story. But," and here she sighed, "Since everything seems to have turned out alright, I suppose not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Slytherin five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

Hadrian and Draco trooped out of the lavatory chamber and didn't speak at all until they were at the entrance to the dungeons, heading down towards their Common Room. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.

"You alright?" Hadrian asked Draco as they descended down into the dungeons. "You're paler than your usual pale."

Draco snickered halfheartedly. "I was scared," he admitted quietly, eyes on the stairs in front of him. "I thought that we'd die. I thought that _you'd _die. I was really scared, Hades."

Hadrian took his hand again, and Draco smiled a little as his trembling fingers were enveloped in Hadrian's natural warmth. "Don't be anymore," Hadrian said, serious for once. "I'll always be there with you to get you out."

Draco laughed and tightened his grip on Hadrian's hand. "I can always trust you for that," he agreed with a smile. "You never break your word."

Hadrian smiled back. "There, see? You're better now, right?"

Draco nodded. "Weren't you afraid at all, Hades?" he asked after a moment of silence, curious. Up in the bathroom, even when the troll had been about to attack him, Hadrian had been his usual cheerful self, while even Draco had been shaking with fear at the monster. Draco didn't know whether it was bravery or outright stupidity that meant Hadrian hadn't been scared.

Hadrian shrugged. "It was just a fat lump of lard, Draco. It might've been big, but I was clearly faster. It couldn't hit me even though it tried." Hadrian smirked with his nose in the air, clearly satisfied with how he'd evaded the troll.

"But it could've _killed _you, Hades," Draco whispered, shuddering at the memory of the troll's club coming down on the spot where Hadrian had been standing in the bathroom. "You were in real danger. It could've really killed you back there."

"But it didn't. Even though it tried, it couldn't kill me. There's nothing to be afraid of, Draco, once you realize that you're better than your attacker." Hadrian smiled brightly, but then sobered. "I was actually more scared when you had to run behind the thing to fetch Hermione from the wall, Draco. If it'd got you, now _that _would've been scary."

Draco slung an arm around Hadrian's shoulders and smiled. "Getting soft, are we now, Mr. Fire Prince of Slytherin?" Draco remarked snidely, but he was happy inside at Hadrian's confession. Hadrian's body heat was like a miniature fireplace under Draco's arm, and it enveloped Draco in its warmth in the cold dungeon corridors.

Hadrian looped an arm around Draco's waist and smiled up at him. "Absolutely, Drake."


	13. First Game

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the grounds were covered in frost.

The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Hadrian and Draco would be participating in the first Quidditch match of the season; Slytherin versus Gryffindor. If Slytherin won, they would move up into second place in the house championship. The tension was high; Slytherin had won the Quidditch Cup the previous year, and there was a lot of pressure to continue their streak. And with it came the buzz of whispers and rumors of the not one but two first-year players on the Slytherin House team, an occurrence that hadn't ever happened in the entire history of Hogwarts. Eyes followed Hadrian and Draco as they walked down the halls, comments whispered behind shielding hands. Draco smirked at anyone who caught his eye, and Hadrian just grinned, both of them enjoying the attention.

On the day before their first Quidditch match, Hadrian and Draco were standing in the courtyard during break, chatting with Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle. Draco had cast a warming charm in a bubble all around their group, so they wouldn't be shivering in the freezing cold. They were discussing the upcoming match, wondering whether Gryffindor would be a strong opponent.

"I hear that they didn't have a proper Seeker, and they had to pull some random guy out so they'd have enough players on the team," Pansy said with a snicker.

Blaise snorted. "If that's true, then Hades here wouldn't have any problem catching the Snitch. We're almost guaranteed a victory right from the start."

Draco shook his head at Blaise's ignorance. "You can never predict the outcome of a match, Blaise," he said admonishingly. "If you get too overconfident, then the other team might just win while you aren't looking."

Blaise laughed. "I can't believe I'm actually hearing that from _you, _Draco. Out of all of us, you're the one who gets the most overconfident when you're doing things."

"That's because I know I can do them better than others," Draco said, his nose in the air.

"But the problem with the game will be the two Beaters on the Gryffindor team," Hadrian said thoughtfully, ignoring Blaise and Draco's bantering. "They're the two Weasley twins, and they might target Drake and I since we've been picking on their little brother."

Crabbe nodded seriously. "Yeah, if both Beaters focus on you, then it'll be really hard," he said slowly.

"You'll have to watch out," Goyle said. "I heard that those Weasley twins are really good at what they do. If you don't pay attention, you could even be knocked off your broom."

Hadrian was distracted from responding when he saw his godfather crossing the yard. Hadrian noticed at once that Severus was still limping, favoring the same leg as a month ago after they'd fought the troll. Severus glanced over at them, seemingly trying to figure out if they were doing something against the rules, but after deciding that they were just chatting, he continued to limp back to school. Hadrian elbowed Draco to get his attention.

"Wonder what's wrong with his leg?" Hadrian asked quietly. "Saw him limping a month ago as well."

Draco shrugged, watching Severus' black cloak flap out of sight. "Perhaps he's getting old."

* * *

The Slytherin Common Room was very noisy that evening. Marcus Flint was having a pep talking session with the entire Slytherin team, while the other House members cheered or watched from the sides. Hadrian and Draco sat together on the couch, along with Adrian Pucey, a Chaser. The other Chaser and the two Beaters sat in the armchairs scattered around the Common Room, while Flint stood in the middle, glowering at all of them in turn.

"We have to win the match tomorrow," he growled low in his throat. "If we lose, I'll curse you all until you beg for mercy. Understand?"

Hadrian snorted and Draco sneered, but they nodded along with the rest. Flint was their team captain, after all. Flint narrowed his eyes and focused on Hadrian and Draco. "You, and you," he said, pointing to both of them and walking up, glaring at them the whole time. "I don't know what fancy trick you pulled to get yourselves on the team, and on the two most important positions no less. But Hooch said that you got on the team fair and square, and there's nothing I can do about it or she's threatening disqualification from the tournament. So listen up. If you two kids mess up tomorrow I'll beat you bloody."

Draco raised his eyebrows at the threat. He'd never declined a challenge, and he wasn't about to do so now. "That's saying if you could, of course."

Hadrian laughed. "Nice." Draco tilted his head at the compliment.

Flint turned a deep shade of red. "You shouldn't be on the team anyways. That tryout was just a fluke," he spat at Draco. "If you let even a single goal in from the Gryffs when we're playing the match tomorrow, you're dead meat. Got it? I'll feed you to the giant squid in the Black Lake."

Draco lounged on the couch. "I wasn't planning to let them score, anyways," he said. "Besides, the giant squid is a vegetarian."

A few snickers broke out among the regular House members who were watching the exchange. Flint glared at anybody who even smiled, and soon the snickering died down. Turning his eyes on Hadrian, Flint bent down so they were eye to eye. "You catch that Snitch in the first hour," Flint said, "Or else you're dead, just like that white-haired runt beside you. Got it?"

Hadrian scowled. He didn't care much if Flint was threatening him, but calling Draco a white-haired runt was too much. "Thirty," Hadrian said.

Flint frowned. "What're you spouting now, first-year?"

Hadrian held up three fingers. "Thirty. I'll catch that Snitch in thirty minutes."

Flint stared at him, and then an almost murderous grin spread over his face. "You know what's scary, first-year?" he asked, almost purring.

Hadrian snorted. "You're face?" Draco laughed beside him.

Flint ignored the jab. "I am. If you don't keep up that boast of yours, if you don't catch that Snitch in the first thirty minutes, you're going down. I will personally see to it that your remaining years at this school are a living hell. You got that?"

Hadrian and Draco looked at each other and smirked. "Got it. You better not drag us down, Captain," they said at the exact same time.

After the pep talk was over, with none of the members feeling any more motivated at all, Hadrian and Draco stayed on the couch while Terence and Miles Bletchley came up to them to wish them luck in the game. They were the two players that had been replaced by Draco and Hadrian, so they felt an almost parental responsibility over the two new players.

"Good luck out there," Terence said with a wink. "Though I'm sure you've got it covered already."

"You'll need to watch out for Flint, though," Miles warned. "He's not one to play by the rules, if you know what I mean. He plays dirty and rough. Stay outta his way as much as possible, and try to finish the game up as soon as you can."

Hadrian and Draco accepted the tips with a nod. "Thanks. Make sure you watch us tomorrow," Hadrian said.

"And cheer when we win," Draco added.

Terence and Miles laughed. "We will," they promised.

Hadrian sat for a while, but got up and headed to the portrait hole that concealed the entrance to the Common Room. Draco looked at him questioningly. "I'm going to see Severus," Hadrian explained. "He was limping earlier, and I want to know why."

Draco shrugged. "Alright. I'm staying here, though." Draco yawned. "Think I'm going to sleep soon, anyways."

Hadrian nodded and made his way to the Potions classroom in the dungeons, peeking inside to see if Severus was in his office. The room was empty, though, and Severus didn't appear even after Hadrian called his name. Shrugging, Hadrian made his way up to the staffroom and knocked, hoping Severus was inside. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.

Hadrian opened the door a crack to take a quick peek inside, just to make sure that the room was empty. His eyes widened when he saw that Severus and Filch were both inside, alone. Severus was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Severus bandages.

"Blasted thing," Severus was saying, "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"

Hadrian quickly pushed the door completely open and burst into the room. "Severus," he cried, rushing over to his godfather. "Are you all right? Bloody hell, what happened?"

Severus dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg as soon as he heard the door open. "Hadrian," he said, his face white with a mixture of anger and surprise. "What are you doing out of your dorms so close to curfew?"

"I wanted to see if you were alright. You were limping earlier," Hadrian said, trying to peer at his godfather's leg again, not noticing Severus' increasing attempts to stop him. "I looked for you in the Potions classroom, but you weren't there, so I came here. And I find you with your leg half gnawed off with a bloody Squib helping you take care of it. Why didn't you call me instead?"

"Hey ya little runt. I'm right here you know," Filch growled, shoving all the dirty bandages in a garbage bag. Hadrian ignored him, as did Severus.

Severus collapsed down into a chair that was conveniently located right behind him. Covering his face with his hands and sighing, he said in a monotone, "Hadrian. Forget you ever saw anything. Nothing happened to me. Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Do not tell anybody of my leg, and don't investigate further. Go back to your dormitories and forget everything. Do you understand?"

Hadrian stuck out his chin obstinately. "No way. _Something _did that to your leg. And you're hiding something from me."

Severus scowled. "You always were too curious for your own good," he muttered irritably. Leaning forwards, Severus grabbed Hadrian by the shoulders. "Hadrian. Do not concern yourself with this matter. I'm telling you as both your godfather and your Professor, leave this matter be, and do not try to find out anything about it. Understand?"

Hadrian pouted, but reluctantly nodded in obedience. "Fine," he said. He left the staffroom in a rush, leaving Severus and Filch behind. Sprinting back down to the dungeons, Hadrian quickly crawled through the portrait hole, looking for Draco. Blaise looked up at Hadrian's entrance with raised eyebrows. "What's up?" he asked, pausing in his game of Gobstones with Theodore.

Draco wasn't in the Common Room. Hadrian shook his head at Blaise. "I gotta talk to Draco," he answered, running down the stairs that led to the dormitories. Hadrian almost tripped in his haste and nearly fell through the door of the first-year boys' dorms, but caught himself on the door handle and glanced around the dorms. Nobody else was in their beds yet, since it wasn't even past curfew. Only Draco was sitting on his blankets in his sleeping robes, reading a book. Draco glanced at Hadrian. "What's the matter, Hades?" he asked, noticing Hadrian's state of mind.

Without giving time for Draco to say anything else, Hadrian rushed over and jumped on Draco's bed, sitting right in front of Draco. In a hushed whisper, Hadrian quickly told him what he'd seen, and Severus' warnings.

"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "Severus tried to get past the three-headed dog at Halloween! _That's_ where he was going when we saw him. _That's_ how he got that bite on his leg. I even heard him say it; he couldn't keep track of all three heads at once. What else could he possibly have been talking about?"

Draco frowned. "But if Severus tried to get past the dog, then wouldn't that mean he's after whatever it is that the thing's supposed to be guarding?"

Hadrian considered it, then shook his head. "No. Severus must have a different reason. Severus may be snarky and a little mean," Draco raised his eyebrows at Hadrian's criticism of his godfather, "But Severus would never do something like that. He must be trying to protect whatever's hidden in there."

Draco snorted. "Well, aren't you the loyal little godson," he said lightly. Hadrian whacked him on the head.

"This is serious, Drake. And I believe in Severus."

Draco nodded and put down his book, intrigued by what Hadrian had told him. "Well, if he's trying to get whatever the dog's protecting, and you say that he's supposed to be trying to protect it as well, then that would mean somebody else is trying to get at it, right?"

Hadrian nodded seriously. "Yeah. Remember when we saw that dog? We decided that a lot of teachers must be in on it, right?" Draco nodded. "Well, then what if each teacher that knew about it contributed to the defenses that were protecting whatever the thing is, and one of those teachers are the ones trying to get the thing?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah, so if they were a part of the defenses, then that would mean they would know what all the other teachers put as defenses as well, right? Which would mean that would make it easier for the thief to get past them. It's a classic infiltration technique."

Hadrian grinned, glad that Draco was following his train of thought. "So that must mean that down under the trapdoor, there's a whole load of other traps and obstacles guarding the object. And the dog's only the first stage."

Draco held up his hands. "Whoa, hold on for a second. We should research this out before we do anything drastic like going past the dog and down the trapdoor. You said we had to scope it out first, right? No way I'm jumping down that trapdoor without any idea of what's on the other side."

Nodding, Hadrian changed into his sleeping robes as well, throwing his school robes carelessly into his trunk. "All right. We'll start researching soon. Just after the Quidditch game tomorrow." Hadrian climbed into bed and flopped onto his pillows, sighing contentedly.

Draco rolled his eyes and got out of bed, going over to Hadrian's trunk and folding Hadrian's robes carefully for him. "Hades, you have to fold them before you go to sleep," Draco said patiently for the thousandths' time. "If you don't, they'll get all wrinkly in the morning."

Hadrian laughed. "Yes, Mother Draco," he said dutifully. Blaise walked in at that moment.

"What? Is Draco mothering you again, Hades?" he asked cheerfully. "Jeez. I'm jealous. I want the Ice Prince to fold _my_ robes as well," he teased, sending Hadrian a sidelong wink. Hadrian grinned.

Draco snorted and tossed the impeccably folded robes back into Hadrian's trunk, snapping the lid shut. "You don't deserve the honor," he replied coldly, getting back to his bed. Draco never did like how Blaise was always butting in between Hadrian and himself.

Hadrian snickered. "Don't worry, Blaise. Draco's just having trouble showing his love."

Blaise laughed while Draco growled at Hadrian. Hadrian smirked and slithered down into his blankets, pulling them up to his chin. "G'night guys," he said happily.

Draco sighed. There was no way he could stay angry with Hadrian, not when the other boy was looking at him so contentedly with those big green eyes. "Goodnight, Hades," Draco replied softly. Soon, Hadrian's breathing deepened and evened out, signaling his falling asleep.

Blaise looked at Draco. "Still seems like Hadrian's the only one you care about, huh, Draco?" he asked softly, in order not to wake Hadrian.

Draco snorted. "Of course," he replied simply, settling down into his blankets and closing his eyes.

"I really am jealous. You two are so close, a person would think you two were real brothers, of the same flesh and blood."

Draco sat up and scowled at Blaise. "Will you shut up? Hadrian doesn't have to share the same blood as me to be my brother, all right, Blaise? Now stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong and just butt out of our business."

Blaise dropped the subject, and soon the dormitories were only filled with the sounds of breathing, as the boys slept through the night.

* * *

The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

"Good luck, mates," Theodore said with a nod as Hadrian and Draco sat down at the Slytherin table for breakfast.

"Do your best," Pansy encouraged absent-mindedly, cutting into her sausages.

Hadrian and Draco grinned. "Don't worry. We'll win this thing." They couldn't have felt better in their lives. In an hour's time they'd be walking out onto the field, the youngest players in over a century and proud members of the Slytherin House team.

Marcus Flint entered the Great Hall and walked straight over to Hadrian and Draco's spot with their friends. "If you two screw this up," he growled, "I won't let you see the next dawn. Got it, you twerps?" he asked menacingly.

Hadrian rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say, Captain," he said dismissively, turning back to his breakfast and idly chewing on a mouthful of strawberries.

Draco nodded without even looking up from the Daily Prophet that he was glancing over. "We never intended to screw up from the beginning. _You_ better not screw _us _up, got it?"

Flint glared some more, but looked as if he ran out of things to say and just stalked away with a huff, yelling at the other team members to get ready and to prepare themselves. Hadrian snorted. "He's not gonna beat us up, not right before a match. These Quidditch matches are everything to him."

Blaise looked at them with raised eyebrows. "Is that why you guys were provoking him before? Because you knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything to you so close to the start of the Quidditch match?"

Draco snorted. "Of course. Flint isn't one to mess with easily. We'll only do it if we know it's safe."

"There's no point in unnecessarily making him angry, after all. Especially not when he's free to retaliate," Hadrian added.

Blaise shook his head. "To think that you two have already calculated that far ahead. It's actually quite terrifying."

Pansy wacked Blaise on the head. "Oh, stop it, Blaise. That's just how Hadrian and Draco are."

Hadrian laughed at Blaise's hurt expression, and Draco just rolled his eyes.

"Hey, good luck today in the match," said a voice from behind them. Hadrian and Draco turned around at the same time to see Hermione, Seamus, and Neville standing beside the Slytherin table, looking completely out of place with the gold and crimson crest on their robes while surrounded by the green and silver of Slytherin. Hermione was looking anxiously at the other Slytherins around her, who were starting to stare at the three lone Gryffindor first-years standing by the Slytherin table. Seamus was looking defiant, while Neville cowered behind Hermione's robes, whimpering slightly whenever he caught somebody's eye.

Hadrian stared for a second, before his expression turned into a wide grin. "Hey guys!" he exclaimed happily, moving over on the bench so the three could sit, and wouldn't have to be standing beside their table anymore. "This is great! What brought you here?"

Hermione perched on the edge of the bench while Seamus plopped down next to Hadrian. Neville sat beside Draco, but looked as if he was half frightened out of his wits just by his proximity to the Ice Prince of Slytherin. "We just wanted to wish you good luck, mate," Seamus said. "Know that Ron might've messed up, but we've still got your back for you, Hades."

Hadrian smiled. "Thanks, Seamus."

Draco sighed. "If you three insist on calling yourselves our friends, then I suppose we can't stop you," he muttered.

Seamus clapped him on the back. "That's the sprit, Draco," he said with a grin. "See, you're not as much of a bloody wanker as you were before."

Pansy giggled nervously while Draco glowered. Hadrian, seeing that Draco was getting more and more irritated by Seamus by the second, decided to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters. "Well, I don't think you've met our other friends yet," he said hastily to the three Gryffindors, turning the attention away from Seamus and Draco.

Hermione looked up and nodded. "That's right, Hadrian. Can you introduce us?"

Hadrian turned to Blaise, Pansy, and Theodore who were sitting opposite the table from them. "Guys, these are the Gryffindors Drake and I are friends with. This is Hermione, the one who just spoke to Drake is Seamus, and the other boy is Neville. Be nice to them, okay?"

Blaise surveyed the three Gryffindors with pursed lips. "A mudblood, a half-blood, and a pureblood. I suppose you could do worse when selecting your friends, Hades," he said.

Draco let out a bark of laughter. "If it was up to me, I wouldn't be associated with them in the first place."

Hadrian ignored Draco's comment. "Hey, be nice. Blood status doesn't really matter, you know that as well as I. Besides, Hermione's the brightest witch in our grade, and she's born from Muggles. It doesn't mean she's not as good as the rest of us, alright?"

Pansy shrugged and held out her hand. "Well, if they're Hadrian's friends, then I guess they're our friends too. I'm Pansy Parkinson."

Hermione took the hand and shook it, smiling. "I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you."

Pansy elbowed Blaise in the ribs and looked meaningfully at him. He scowled, but reluctantly held out his hand as well. "I'm Blaise Zabini."

Theodore also shook hands with the three Gryffindors, introducing himself with a smile. "Hey there. I'm Nott. Theodore Nott. You guys are the first Gryffs I've talked to this year."

Neville smiled warily. "H-hello," he stuttered slightly. "You're the first Slytherin we've talked to this year, besides Hadrian and Draco."

Theodore nodded. "Yeah, I know. There's the House rivalry and everything going on, so us Slytherins and you Gryffs don't interact much outside of class besides fights and insults. Don't think there're any other Slytherins here with friends in Gryffindor, anyways."

Seamus nodded emphatically. "Yeah, the rivalry between our Houses is extreme. Whenever something goes wrong, we blame it on the Snakes, and I'm pretty sure you do the same in your House, right?"

"Well, who better to blame it on? The Gryffs are always the ones to start the fighting," Blaise said reasonably. "It's not like us Slytherins would ever lower ourselves to something so coarse and plebian as physical violence."

Hermione frowned. "But the Snakes are the ones who provoke us first," she countered. "You guys are the ones who spit out the insults, and anger us first. So in reality, you are the ones who initiate the fights with your verbal abuse."

Draco held up his hands, a scowl on his face. "Ok, ok. We all get that the House rivalry is a big thing. Can we just not argue over breakfast? You're all giving me a headache with all your blathering."

Everybody looked at Draco for a second. It was Hadrian who finally broke the silence. "Alright, everybody. Let's switch to a lighter conversation, shall we? This is no way to talk right before the first Quidditch match of the season, right?"

Pansy smiled. "I guess you're right, Hades. Don't mess up out there today."

Neville smiled. "Good luck, to both Hadrian and Draco!"

* * *

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.

Pansy, Blaise, and Theodore joined the rest of the Slytherin first years in the Slytherin section of the stands up in the top row. Hermione, Neville, and Seamus parted with them to go to the Gryffindor's red and gold colored stands, where a glowering Ronald Weasley awaited them for ditching him that morning during breakfast. Meanwhile, Hadrian and Draco headed to the Slytherin locker room. They would change into their silver and green Quidditch robes with the rest of the team (Gryffindor would be playing in scarlet), and collect their brooms.

Flint cleared his throat, and the rustling and murmured comments in the locker room among the team players immediately died to absolute silence. Flint jabbed his finger at Hadrian and Draco, who were standing a little ways away from the rest of the team. "You two," he said menacingly, "Remember what you said."

Draco nodded. "This again? I thought we already made it clear that we have no intention of losing."

Sneering, Flint focused on Draco. "No goals by the Gryffs, got it?" His attention shifted to Hadrian. "And capture that bloody Snitch in the first half hour. Or else." Flint cracked his knuckles and smiled wickedly, his threat hanging in the air.

A whistle sounded from outside the locker rooms. Flint looked up and straightened his robes. "Right. It's time. We have to win, got it?"

Hadrian and Draco trailed after the rest of the team as they made their way out of the locker room and walked onto the field to loud cheers. Hadrian immediately sought out their friends among the crowds, and waved enthusiastically up to them. Draco ignored the cheers and focused; the moment the whistle blew, they would have to be ready.

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. Hadrian snorted when he realized she seemed to be speaking particularly to Flint. The Gryffindor team snickered slightly, and Hadrian frowned. It was people like Flint, who didn't play by the rules and were aggressive and rash, that gave Slytherin House a bad name. "Mount your brooms, please."

Hadrian swung his leg smoothly over his brand new Nimbus Two Thousand, and Draco did the same beside him. Their team was arranged in a semicircle on their side of the field, the Gryffs in the same position on the other side to complete the full circle. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high into the air. They were off.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too-"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry Professor."

A Gryffindor – Lee Jordan, was doing the match's commentary from the top of the stands, closely watched by a vigilant Professor McGonagall. Hadrian recognized the boy from having seen him a couple of times in the hallways, walking with the Weasley twins.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve – back to Johnson and – no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes – Flint flying like an eagle up there – he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle."

Hadrian saw the whole thing. Flint had been rushing up to the goalposts; the other two Chasers both open as the attention focused on him. His opinion of Flint dropped. If Flint had passed to one of the other Chasers, the Slytherins would've gotten a goal for sure.

"That's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and OUCH – that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger – Quaffle taken by the Slytherins – that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger – sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which – nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes – she's really flying – dodges a speeding Bludger – the goal posts are ahead – come on now, Angelina. Slytherin first-year Keeper Draco Malfoy isn't moving at all from his spot! What's the kid doing? Does he even know how to play? Maybe he's too frightened to move. What were the Slytherins thinking, letting a kid on their team? And I hear that their Seeker's also a first-year as well!"

Hadrian scowled. The commentary for the game was supposed to be completely objective, but it seemed that Lee Jordan was having trouble eliminating all his bias. He was obviously leaning towards his own House's team, and his comments against the Slytherin team were more than enough proof of that. Hadrian smirked to himself. Draco would show them that all those comments were nothing but lies.

"Johnson nears the three hoops, but Keeper Malfoy still isn't moving! What's he trying to do? Johnson swerves at the last minute and aims a perfect shot into the right hoop! It's gonna go in! Gryffindor's gonna take the first goal!"

The cheers grew louder in intensity, so much so that Hadrian could barely hear the commentary. The Gryffindors were all stamping their feet and yelling, while the Slytherins urged Draco to block the goal.

"The Quaffle is going into the hoop! Yes! And it's- WHAT? How did Keeper Malfoy get in front of the goal? When did he move? How could he block that?"

There were cries of outrage from the Gryffindors, and the Slytherins cheered at Draco's successful block. Hadrian's smirk widened. Draco was never one to disappoint.

While Hadrian had been focused on Draco, he didn't notice the Bludger shooting straight at him, sent by one of the Weasley twins. Only the movement in the corner of his eye alerted him that it was coming, and Hadrian was barely able to dodge at the last second, doing a roll on his broom to avoid the heavy ball.

"Better watch out there, Fire Prince," one of the Weasley twins yelled as he zoomed past Hadrian.

"We know you've been targeting our little brother. We've heard the rumors of what he did to make you turn against him, but he's still family," shouted the other from Hadrian's other side.

"We can't just sit back and pretend nothing's happening. Sorry, mate. We know that it's his fault and we like you two well enough, but our baby brother's more important," the first one finished.

Hadrian rolled his eyes. He understood where the Weasley twins were coming from. If he had been in their position, he'd probably have done the same thing. "That's fine," he shouted back with a grin. "I don't mind if you try and hit me. But you gotta catch me first!" Hadrian angled his broom into a steep dive, the Nimbus Two Thousand responding to his slightest command. Hadrian grinned. He was gonna have some fun.

Over by the goal hoops, Draco had gotten the Quaffle again after blocking a shot from Gryffindor Chaser Katie Bell. Hadrian headed over to where Draco was hovering on his broom, trying to find an open Slytherin Chaser to pass to. Unfortunately, the Gryffindors had tightened their defense, and all three Slytherin Chasers, including the fuming Flint, were under tight guard. There wasn't any opening among the Chasers where Draco could pass.

Hadrian swooped down and pulled up near Draco. "Hey Drake!" he called, "Pass!" Hadrian held out his hands for the Quaffle, staying on top of his broom using only his legs.

Draco looked at him for a moment, and then grinned. "Go get them, Hades," he whooped, turning back to his position in front of the goal posts. Hadrian caught the Quaffle and swerved across the Quidditch Pitch, the Gryffindor and Slytherin Chasers alike trying to catch up to him.

"It looks like Slytherin Seeker Hadrian No-Last-Name has got the Quaffle," Lee Jordan was still commentating from the stands below. "Why on earth did the Slytherin Keeper pass the Quaffle to their Seeker? What about the Snitch? Hey, isn't this against the rules? Somebody stop that Seeker!"

Hadrian laughed out loud, maneuvering his broom through the air like he was born to fly. Flint was yelling at him to stop from somewhere behind him, but Hadrian didn't even look back. Two of the Gryffindor Chasers flew up on either side of him, matching his speed. Hadrian scowled. They were trying to pincer attack him so he wouldn't be able to move.

The two Gryffindor Chasers jerked their brooms so they would slam into Hadrian. "You're not gonna get me that easily," Hadrian growled, pulling his broom up until it was almost vertical and shooting up straight in the air. The Chasers below him crashed into each other instead, sending both of them spiraling apart as they fought to regain control of their brooms. Hadrian stuck his tongue out at the Chasers, leveling his broom out again and making his way to the Gryffindor goal hoops.

A Bludger whizzed just an inch from his face, and Hadrian ducked just in time to avoid the other one that came just a second later. He looked up and frowned. The Weasley twins were circling overhead, aiming both Bludgers right at him.

Hadrian made a sharp turn to the right, lowering his altitude a bit so he would be harder to hit from the farther distance. Zigzagging towards where the Gryffindor Keeper Oliver Woods was waiting, Hadrian did flips and sudden turns to confuse the other boy.

Adrian Pucey, Slytherin Chaser, came up beside Hadrian. "Hey, pass!" he called, holding his hands out open. Hadrian saw Wood's attention shift to Adrian, and he grinned.

"Here," Hadrian passed the Quaffle to Adrian, who tucked it under his arm and pulled forwards. Hadrian turned and added a burst of speed to his broom, until he was hovering just in front of the left hoop. Wood had completely shifted his attention to Adrian, who was nearing the right hoop, and Hadrian held up his hands high into the air. "Adrian! Over here!" he yelled.

Adrian looked up at the last moment, just as Wood got into position in front of the right hoop. Lobbing the ball up, Hadrian swooped and caught it easily, lightly tossing it through the left hoop. Wood, who had been in front of the right hoop, had no chance.

"And the Slytherin Seeker puts the Quaffle through the hoop! What's going on? Isn't this illegal? Nice bit of teamwork there, though," Lee Jordan was still frantically trying to get the situation back under control, while the Gryffindors roared that the goal didn't count and the Slytherins laughed.

"Madam Hooch! Does the goal count? Even though it was scored by the Seeker?" The Gryffindor Seeker, a slight figure who looked to be in sixth year, shouted down to the referee. The boy was average in every way. His flying was simple and unimaginative, and his tight grip on the handle of his broomstick showed he had little confidence in his abilities. Hadrian snorted. It seemed that Pansy had been right when she said the Gryffindors had been desperate for anybody to become their Seeker, just so they could participate with a full team count.

Madam Hooch deliberated for a minute. "It counts!" she proclaimed finally, to boos and jeers from the Gryffindors and whoops from the Slytherins. "There's no rule that states the Quaffle _cannot _be scored by the Seeker, it's just never been attempted before. But in any case, Slytherin's goal is valid."

Lee Jordan booed and jeered with the rest of the Gryffindors, until McGonagall smacked him on the head. "Sorry Professor," he said into the microphone. "But it's really not fair-" he got another smack and a detention threat if he didn't do his job properly. "Right, well, even though it's obviously unfair and completely illegal, the Slytherin Seeker Hadrian scores! It totally shouldn't be counted though! But since the ref says it's valid, Slytherin takes the first ten points."

The Slytherins stamped their feet on the stands and whooped loud enough to drown the Gryffindor's roars of rage. Hadrian smirked. They wouldn't be making fun of the first-year players any time soon after what he just did.

A flash of gold caught his eye, hovering near the base of the Slytherin goal hoops. Looking quickly at the Gryffindor Seeker, who was closer to the Slytherin hoops than Hadrian, he saw that the other boy was still completely clueless about the appearance of the Snitch, and was instead arguing loudly with Madam Hooch. Grinning, Hadrian urged his broom into the maximum speed, shooting down towards the base of the goal hoops.

"The Slytherin Seeker goes into a dive! Did he see the Snitch? After that illegal move earlier that shouldn't have been counted, he's finally going back to his actual job now?" Lee Jordan obviously held a grudge against Hadrian for scoring that point. Hadrian ignored him.

The Gryffindor Seeker had noticed what Hadrian was doing. Pulling his broom down in a dive as well, the Gryffindor Seeker raced neck-to-neck with Hadrian for the little glint of gold at the base of the hoops. It was darting around, but staying in mostly the same spot around the pillar for the central hoop.

Hadrian's broom was faster than the Gryffindor Seeker's. He noticed it when he started pulling ahead, and so did the other Seeker. Putting on just a little extra burst of speed, Hadrian pulled ahead even further, stretching out his arm. The Snitch was in sight, nearing every moment. He was almost there; he was about to catch it; it was almost in his grasp-

He was jerked back by a sudden tug on the back of his robes. Hadrian's eyes widened when he realized the other Seeker had grabbed on to him, stopping him suddenly. The collar of his robes choked him as he was suddenly pulled back, and the sudden stop in his momentum caused him to tumble backwards, hanging on to his broom for dear life. His hand grazed the tip of the wing on the Snitch, causing it to flutter frantically and dart away. He tumbled back through the air, losing altitude. It was only at the last second that he was able to regain control to avoid crashing into the sandy bottom of the Quidditch Pitch.

The Slytherins howled at the Gryffindor Seeker. "Foul! Foul!" Blaise's voice echoed from the stands. The Gryffindor Seeker, having been preoccupied with stopping Hadrian from reaching the Snitch, seemed to have lost the Snitch's position. The elusive glint of gold was nowhere to be seen. Hadrian scowled. If that was how the Gryffs wanted to play it, then he was gonna catch that Snitch before the other Seeker no matter what. Tightening his hold on his broom, Hadrian sped straight up into the air, way above any of the other players. Scanning the pitch, he looked for that glint of gold, his sharp eyes catching the reflection of sun off of everything from a pair of raised binoculars to a small handheld mirror.

The Gryffindor Seeker was looking for the Snitch as well, from the way he was turning his head this way and that. Hadrian was so intent on searching for the Snitch that he didn't see the Bludger coming up on him from behind.

_Thwack. _The Bludger hit him straight in the back of the head, almost knocking him out. "Good one, Fred," said a voice from slightly above. Hadrian looked up just in time to see one of the Weasley twins – George, by the looks of it – send the other Bludger right at him. It was moving so fast Hadrian had no time to react. The Bludger hit him right on the face, making him fall off his broom and drop through the sky, with only one hand tightly gripping on his broomstick that was falling with him.

Hadrian had blacked out for a second, but when he came to and looked down, the ground of the Quidditch Pitch was coming up fast. Hadrian almost screamed, but realized it would be useless and focused instead on getting his broom underneath him again. But a flash of gold sparkled just as Hadrian was about to try and stop his fall; the Snitch was right underneath him, just a mere foot away from the ground of the Pitch. And he was falling right towards it.

Hadrian made a split second decision. He continued to hold his broom in his left hand, stretching out his right hand in front of him. He was falling, so his body was entirely vertical, his legs above him and his broom pointing straight down, parallel to his body. Hadrian pulled the broom towards him until it was pressed against his chest, squinting his eyes against the wind of his fall. He would only have a single chance, and he would have to time it perfectly.

"The Slytherin Seeker is falling! After being hit by two Bludgers consecutively in the head, courtesy of the Weasley twins, the Seeker is falling straight down towards the ground of the Pitch! Did he pass out? Those Bludgers can be brutal, I know, and the kid's just a first-year! Somebody do something! He's gonna go splat!" Lee Jordan, though he wanted his own House to win the match, wasn't gonna just let a kid fall to his death right in front of him without saying anything about it. Seeing the boy fall through the air, not even making a single effort to stop his momentum, sent a chill down Lee Jordan's spine. If somebody didn't stop him, the boy would die. All the House members watching; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, stood up and yelled for someone to stop the kid. They all watched the boy fall, plunging inexorably to his death.

Hadrian grimaced as his eyes teared up from the wind, clouding his vision. Blinking furiously so he could see, Hadrian focused only on the little round ball fluttering beneath him on its golden wings. He was almost there, and there was no pesky Gryffindor Seeker this time to pull him back.

He grabbed the Snitch. At the exact same moment that he felt the solidity of the little golden ball land in his hand, Hadrian jerked on his broom, pulling it underneath him. Yanking on his broom with all his might to stop his fall, just like he had done in flying lessons before when he had been trying to save the falling Neville, Hadrian managed to get the broom to hover horizontally. His fall was stopped just like that, and the breath whooshed out of him as the broom stopped just half a foot from the sand of the Pitch base. Hadrian stared straight in front of him, lying horizontally on his broom. He could see every single grain of white sand under him, his nose almost touching the ground. Sweat dripped off his brow, making little spots of liquid that was quickly absorbed by the sand.

There was silence in the Pitch. Everybody was staring at him, and Hadrian could feel their eyes on his back. Hadrian let his broom down and landed flat on the ground below with a soft _thump, _the broomstick pinned underneath him. Crawling up into a sitting position, Hadrian raised his hand to the sky, unclenching his curled fingers from around the fluttering golden ball.

It took a moment for the people on the stands and the players in the air to realize that he had caught the Snitch. It was Draco's voice that finally shouted, "Hey! Hades' got the Snitch! We've got the Snitch!"

Everybody's attention fixed on Hadrian's open hand, where the Snitch lay limply in his grasp. The Chasers paused in what they were doing. The Gryffindor's Seeker's jaw fell open. Draco whooped and clapped. The game ended in complete confusion.

"So that entire falling stunt was just a _fake?_ He was just _pretending _so he could get the Snitch?" the Gryffindor Seeker was still howling twenty minutes later, ashamed and irritated at his loss to a first-year.

Hadrian rolled his eyes. He had already finished changing out of his Quidditch robes, and his broom was put back into its proper place in the locker rooms. "Hey, I won fair and square. Besides, _you _were the one who pulled me back when I was about to catch it the first time around," he said, poking a finger into the Gryffindor Seeker's chest. The other boy was over a foot taller than Hadrian, but at the moment Hadrian felt as if he could take on a giant. The adrenaline from almost plunging to his death was still pumping through his veins, and he was unstoppable.

Draco, standing some ways behind Hadrian, walked up to both of them and joined their dispute. "Yeah, I saw that. It was completely illegal, how you grabbed onto Hades' robes just so he wouldn't catch the Snitch. You're lucky Hooch didn't call a penalty for that."

The Gryffindor Seeker scowled. "You're just two _first-years! _What do you know?"

Hadrian stuck out his tongue. "We know we're better than _you," _he said with a smirk, high-fiving Draco's offered hand.

The Gryffindor's scowl deepened and he raised a hand as if to punch Hadrian. Hadrian stepped back quickly and shook his wand out of his sleeve into his hand. If the Gryffindor was going to attack, Hadrian wasn't gonna just stand around and wait for it to come. Beside him, Hadrian knew Draco would be doing the same.

But a figure stepped in between them just before the Gryffindor's fist came down, making the Gryffindor freeze in his position. "What're you doing to my teammates?" Flint growled, cracking his knuckles and scowling fiercely at the Gryffindor to show how serious he was. Though the Gryffindor was tall, Flint was taller. And much more threatening.

The Gryffindor quickly lowered his hand, hiding it behind his back. "Uh, I, um, was just joking around, you know?" he said lamely, stuttering with nerves when confronted with the intimidating Slytherin Quidditch team Captain. Draco rolled his eyes.

"If you were just joking around, do it somewhere else. We have better things to worry about than enduring some Gryffindor's lame jokes." Draco crossed his arms and put on the classic Malfoy sneer. Hadrian choked on a laugh.

When the Gryffindor didn't move, Flint snapped. He rushed forwards and grabbed the Gryffindor by the collar of his robes. "SCRAM," he roared into the kid's face. The Gryffindor went pale and scrambled back when Flint released him.

"Hey, Allen! Come on, hurry up!" Oliver Wood called as he headed out from the Pitch with the rest of the Gryffindor team. The Gryffindor Seeker – Allen – turned around and ran to them, sprinting to get away from Flint. Hadrian snorted and Draco let out a chuckle.

"Coward," Draco muttered under his breath.

Hadrian saw twin heads of bright red hair bobbing along in the other group. "Hey, Weasley twins!" he called. The two heads turned around, revealing identical faces with identical expressions. "Good game!" Hadrian said, waving.

The Weasley twins grinned. "We'll beat you next time, you little brats," they called back, raising their hands.

Draco smirked. "In your dreams," he yelled to them. All they got was a laugh in return.

After the Gryffindor team disappeared back inside the castle, Flint turned and walked away. Hadrian and Draco looked at each other, then ran to catch up.

"Hey, why d'you help us?" Hadrian asked curiously, appearing on Flint's left side.

"We had it under control. You didn't have to butt in," Draco commented, stepping to Flint's right.

Flint ignored them, continuing to walk at a brisk pace, forcing Hadrian and Draco, who were much shorter, to almost jog to keep up.

"Hey, don't ignore us when we're talking to you," Hadrian whined, running up in front of Flint and blocking his path, forcing him to stop. "What happened to all that macho threatening I'm-against-the-first-year-brats-in-my-House-team attitude? I thought you hated us?"

Draco stood beside Hadrian, adding to the barrier that prevented Flint from walking any further. "Yeah, and you didn't even try to hide the fact that you hated us. Just before the game, you were threatening us with doom and despair, remember? What caused the sudden change of heart? Did you bump your head too hard or something?"

Flint scowled. "Listen. You two acted up to all your boasting. The white-haired runt didn't let in a single goal, and the black-haired runt caught the Snitch in the first thirty minutes. There's nothing I can do about it now."

Hadrian raised his eyebrows. "So what're you trying to say?"

"Are you gonna be all buddy-buddy with us now just 'cause we did what we said we would do?" Draco finished.

"Don't get so full of yourselves," Flint growled.

"But _you're _the one who defended us and called us _your teammates,"_ Hadrian said, tilting his head. "You didn't have to do anything like that, since it's really none of your business. But you stood up for us anyways against the Gryffindor Seeker, after you've made it perfectly clear you didn't want us on the team."

"So what do you expect us to think, after the evil overlord Marcus Flint does something like that?" Draco questioned.

Flint huffed and stalked away. "You guys were impressive today," he growled over his shoulder. "Next match we have, if you don't do the same as you did today, I'll never let you hear the end of it. If you guys do worse, I'll kick you outta the team in no time flat. I still don't like you two runts."

Hadrian and Draco watched Flint make his way back to the castle with stunned expressions. "Was that just a _compliment?_ From the devil Captain himself?" Hadrian asked, astonished. "Well, he followed it up with an insult, but that was a compliment, I'm almost sure of it."

Draco smirked. "You think the Captain's getting soft?"

Hadrian shrugged, grinning. "Naw. Maybe he's just taken with how cute we first-years are."

They stared at each other for a full minute before they both burst out laughing.


	14. Research

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Hadrian's head thudded onto the Library table surface. Draco looked up from the textbook he was studying with raised eyebrows, surveying the dark head lying across the table from him. "You do realize that if you do that, all your brain cells will disappear and you'll become nothing more than a vegetable?"

Hadrian turned his head to peer at Draco through the hair flopping over his eyes. "I don't care," he mumbled, irritation in every syllable. "I'm tired of studying. We've been looking for _hours,_ and we're no closer to finding anything more about that three-headed dog."

It was a week after the Quidditch match, and Hadrian and Draco could hardly walk through the corridors of the school without being surrounded by either enthusiastic fans or glaring Gryffindors. The entire school had seen both of them during the Quidditch match, and it was no secret now that they were the two most promising new recruits of the year. In an attempt to avoid the constant mass of whispering and rumors, Hadrian and Draco had taken refuge in a deserted corner of the library, intent on working out the mystery of what was beyond the trapdoor.

"This was your idea in the first place," Draco reminded him. "If you recall, I didn't want anything to do with the dog or the trapdoor to begin with, and you were the one that dragged me in."

Hadrian snorted. "Well, I didn't think that it would be this _hard _to find anything about a three headed dog. It's like they specifically took away all the books containing any information that could lead to it or something."

Draco straightened up in his seat. "You know, Hades," he said slowly, "That might actually be what happened. Think about it. If they're serious enough to guard whatever is beyond that trapdoor with a gigantic three-headed monster in a school for _children,_ then they must've been thorough enough to hide all the reference books that would tell us more about the dog. You know, just in case any of the students accidentally stumbled on the dog while it was guarding the door."

Resting his chin on his arms, Hadrian nodded sleepily, smothering a yawn. "Yeah, that's true," he agreed. "But then how are we supposed to learn more about that dog if there aren't any books about it?"

"We could ask the Care of Magical Creatures Professor," Draco suggested. "We don't take any elective courses until third year, but I'm sure the Professor would agree to listen to us if we told him we were doing some extra research."

Hadrian perked up, all the sleepiness gone. "You're right," he exclaimed. "The current Professor for Care of Magical Creatures is Professor Silvanus Kettlebum, right? I heard his classroom is up on the fifth floor in the North Wing."

Draco shut his book and added it to the large stacks that were scattered over their table. "Well, let's go then. We're not accomplishing anything by just sitting here with all these useless textbooks, anyways."

* * *

The Care of Magical Creatures classroom was a dark, gloomy place filled with mildew and cages, with glowing eyes that followed Hadrian and Draco as they made their way around the desks and chairs. The soft sounds of breathing and shuffling of the various creatures kept in the room emanated from all corners of the chamber, while cages and boxes lined the walls and claws and fangs littered the desks.

"Hey, this is actually kinda creepy," Draco muttered under his breath. "Remind me never to choose Care of Magical Creatures as an elective; this classroom is filthy."

Hadrian peered into a cage that was sitting next to the Professor's desk at the head of the classroom, poking his fingers through the bars only to snatch them back when the creature inside snapped viciously at his hand. "And dangerous too," Hadrian added softly, matching Draco's tone.

There was a door at the far end of the classroom, most likely leading to the Professor's private quarters. Hadrian knocked politely on the door. "Professor Kettlebum?" he called, "Are you available right now?"

The door latch clicked and it swung open slowly, the creak of the hinges ominous among the skittering and scratching of the animals in the cages. Hadrian stepped back a bit, wondering what sort of Professor would teach in such a place. He loosened his left hand and held it casually by his side; ready to shake his wand out of his sleeve at any moment. The atmosphere in the classroom really wasn't ideal, and Hadrian refused to take any chances. There had been rumors that Professor Kettlebum of Care of Magical Creatures was crazy, but until now Hadrian had never put much stock in such gossip. Beside him, Hadrian heard Draco gulp.

The door opened to reveal a man sitting in a wheelchair, his beard tangled and overgrown, and his eyebrows so long they fell over his eyes. But most noticeable of all were his limbs, or rather, the lack thereof. He had only one single complete leg, the other an amputated stump by his hip. He only had half an arm, cut right off at the elbow so that it ended in a round ball of white flesh. Sitting on the wheelchair, the man looked strangely lopsided with all his missing limbs, and his grubby robes and the dirty wizard's hat on his head just added to the strange first impression.

"Whatddya want?" the man spat irritably. As he talked he revealed just three teeth in his mouth, the rest all toothless gums.

Draco straightened his back and lifted his nose in the air. "We wish to speak to Professor Kettlebum, sir," he said regally.

The man in the wheelchair spat again. "Yer talking to him right now, kid. So what do two brats I've never seen before want with me?"

Hadrian stared. _This _was Professor Kettlebum? The Care of Magical Creatures Professor? He looked more like one of the wizards you would find in a dark corner at the end of some alley, sleeping with the rats. Clearing his throat, Hadrian pushed his thoughts away. The man was a Professor, and even if he looked anything but, he still deserved the proper respect. "My name is Hadrian, and this is Draco Malfoy," he said clearly, introducing both of them. "We've developed an interest in rare magical creatures, and we've been hoping that you would be able to provide us with some of your time so we can ask you a few questions."

"This is all extracurricular, of course," Draco added when the Professor frowned. "We're doing this merely out of our own interest. I don't believe satisfying the curiosity of two young students would be that much of a waste, right Professor?"

Kettlebum snorted, then broke out into a cackling laugh. "Curiosity? Your own interest? Gimme a break. I've been teaching this class since before you two brats were even born, and let me tell you, that's the biggest load of codswallop I've ever heard." The Professor leaned in, his stump of an arm swinging loosely in front of him, his eyes still obscured by his eyebrows. Hadrian and Draco both inadvertently took a step back.

"Let me tell you something, you brats," the Professor rasped. "I don't have time for little buggers like you, lying about real interest in magical creatures. If you've got time ta come asking 'bout things ya don't care about anyways, you should just use yer time and actually do somethin' productive. Now get lost!" Kettlebum suddenly leaned back, rolling his wheelchair back slightly, and then slammed the door of his office in Hadrian and Draco's astonished faces without another word. From within the office came clanking and skittering, evidence that the Professor had gone back to whatever he had been doing before the two boys had come knocking.

"That went well," Draco said after a brief silence.

Hadrian looked slowly at Draco, and then burst out laughing. "Went well? Yeah right, Drake! If that went well, I'd eat my own broomstick."

Draco remained impassive for a second before his face softened into a grin. "Who'd have thought Kettlebum was such a crazy bastard?" he asked as they walked out of the classroom and down the corridors, with no conscious thought of where they were going. "Really, a Professor refusing two eager students who came to him for help. It's unheard of. We could get him sacked if we report this."

Hadrian shook his head. "Naw, that would just be too mean. He's got enough worries to deal with. Besides, he pretty much hit right on the mark with what he said. I mean, we aren't really interested in magical creatures, we're just interested in what's beyond that trapdoor."

Draco considered it for a moment. "How do you think he found out? Our lies were perfect, and we even look the part of two good students wanting some extra knowledge in our heads."

"Maybe it's because we both have all our limbs intact," Hadrian snickered, linking his fingers behind his head and looking up at the ceiling of the corridor as they walked.

Draco snorted. "That's probably it," he agreed.

Hadrian suddenly spun around. "Ah, crap. If Kettlebum won't help us, though, then who the heck are we supposed to ask about the three-headed dog?"

"McGonagall?"

"No, she's already suspicious of us enough as it is. If we ask her about the dog, she'd be on to us for sure."

Draco nodded. "Snape, then?"

"He already told us to quit researching! If we ask him about it, he'd surely get angry." Hadrian sighed. "But who else is left? We sure as heck can't ask Quirrell; I doubt he'd know a three-headed dog from a Crup."

Draco looked at Hadrian. Hadrian stared back. "Crap," they said together.

* * *

Groaning, Hadrian sighed as he walked up the dungeon stairs to get to the Great Hall for breakfast. He was always tired and unhappy on Sundays. "Didn't sleep well?" Draco asked idly, falling into step beside Hadrian. "You were turning around a lot all night."

He groaned again. "You heard me? I just couldn't get in a good position, that's all."

Draco nodded. "Sunday blues, huh? You were always depressed on Sundays. Even when we were kids, you'd tell me to bugger off and sleep most of the day."

Snorting, Hadrian scratched the back of his head. "I hate Mondays, since they're always so slow, but Sundays are worse. Just the anticipation that Monday will be tomorrow gets me down. If it were up to me, I'd get rid of all the Sundays and Mondays. And I'd add another day to the weekend as well."

Draco smacked Hadrian on the back of his head. "Hades, pull yourself together. We're eleven now, first-years at Hogwarts. The Princes of Slytherin. It's unseemly to be grumbling and complaining so early in the morning."

Hadrian sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Drake."

They returned to the library straight after breakfast. Without any Professors that they could think of that would actually be able to help them in their search about the three-headed dog, they'd decided to go back to poring over the dusty tomes and hope for just a sliver of information that would give them a lead. The morning passed with no success.

"I can't believe this!" Hadrian growled, slamming the book he was reading shut. Propping his chin up with his hand, Hadrian stared out the window, observing the Forbidden Forest and the Hogwarts grounds. Many students were outside, having snowball fights in the cold weather or just sitting and chatting with their friends.

"If you shout like that, you'll get Pince down on our heads," Draco said without looking up from his own book, already used to Hadrian's outbursts.

"I don't care," Hadrian grumbled. He watched a few students making snow angels on the pristine white carpet of snow, laughing. "I wanna go outside."

Draco came up beside Hadrian and looked out of the window as well. "You want to roll around in the snow and get sopping wet, perhaps catch a cold, and freeze your arse off? I'd like to pass, thank you very much."

Hadrian laughed. "When you put it that way, it does sound rather pointless. But at least it's more fun than sitting around in this dusty old library looking over books that don't even have anything worthwhile in them."

Draco was silent. Instead, his eyes were narrowed, focused on something outside. Hadrian frowned and looked in the direction of the other boy's gaze.

A man was over by the Quidditch field, quite alone. But he wasn't just any man. It was a giant, and even from this distance the two boys could see that he had a long, shaggy man of hair and a wild, tangled beard, so much so that it almost completely obscured his face. The man was defrosting broomsticks on the field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver skin boots.

"I say, just who is that?" Hadrian asked.

Draco hummed. "I've heard of him," he said slowly, "I heard Father complaining about him once. He's a sort of _savage_ or something. Lives in a hut on the school grounds and makes sure all the creatures in the Forest stays put, and does some odd jobs besides. Every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

Looking back at the man, who had finished defrosting the brooms and was now moving on to clearing the locker room doorways of snow, Hadrian felt a smile spread on his face. "Hey, Drake. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Draco sighed. "I still really don't want to go outside, but if it means it'll finally get us some leads on that dog, I suppose we have no choice."

* * *

Hadrian and Draco waited until the man had gone back to his hut before grabbing their scarves and walking out onto the frigid grounds. Quickly passing a few clumps of students here and there, they arrived at the small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

"Hey Drake," Hadrian whispered as they stood in front of the door, "Do you think he's, you know, _civilized? _Like, do you think he can speak and answer our questions?"

Draco shrugged. "Well, if he has a job here, then I'm sure he's gotta be, right? It's not like we know anyone who's ever talked to him before, so we know nothing about him."

Hadrian gulped, and shook his wand in his hand. "Okay. I'll knock, and when he opens the door, if he looks threatening, we run as fast as we can. If he looks welcoming, we stay on our guard, ask him our questions, and then leave. Good plan?"

"Yep."

Hadrian took a deep breath and knocked loudly. They heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. "Do we run?" Draco asked nervously.

"Not yet, he hasn't opened the door yet. We need to see him first."

The barks were interrupted by a loud, booming voice. "Back, Fang. _Back."_

"At least we know he can talk," Draco joked halfheartedly. Hadrian snorted.

The door swung open, revealing the man, even taller up close, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. "Two students? What'cha come here fer? Not many students come visit, and I haven't seen you two before," the man said upon seeing Hadrian and Draco standing on his doorstep.

"My name is Draco Malfoy," Draco said proudly, hiding his nervousness with the usual Malfoy arrogance. "And this is Hadrian. We have an interest in rare magical creatures, and we were hoping you could help us, seeing as you come into contact with these creatures on a daily basis."

"We've heard that you were the one to consult when looking for information about rare species, such as dragons, acromantulas, and, I don't know, three-headed dogs for example?" Hadrian added, giving the large man his best innocent-but-studious-student look.

The man's face suddenly split into a wide grin. "Well if I don't say. Come right in. You've come ter the right place, I can tell yer that much." He let them in, still holding on to the boarhound.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling; a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yerselves at home," the man said, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Draco and started licking his ears.

"Gerrof me!" Draco shouted from underneath the giant dog, who was drooling all over his robes. Hadrian laughed.

"Oh, he likes you, Drake!"

The giant laughed as well, a booming laugh that shook the rafters. "Fang's just a big softie. Real coward, too."

Draco had finally managed to push the dog off of him, but Fang just sat by Draco's feet, head lolling and drooling on Draco's knees. Draco sneered in disgust, but gave up trying to push the massive dog away.

"Ah, I haven't introduced meself yet," the giant said, while pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. "Me name's Rubeus Hagrid, but most people just call me Hagrid. I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts."

"Very nice to meet you, Hagrid," Hadrian said politely, accepting the tea Hagrid passed to him with a smile.

Hagrid sat down across from them at the large table, setting tea in front of Draco as well and took a sip from his own cup. "You kids in Slytherin?" he asked, glancing at their green and silver scarves with the Slytherin crest emblazoned on the end.

Hadrian nodded. "Yeah. First-year Slytherins."

"Used to be in Gryffindor back when I was in Hogwarts," Hagrid said. "Remember that the old House rivalry was really somethin' back then. Used to think Slytherins were all a bunch of nasty buggers, but you two kids seem alright, eh?"

"You went to Hogwarts?" Draco asked curiously.

Hagrid nodded. "Yep. Had me own wand and everything. Got expelled in third year, though. Had me wand snapped, and would've had ta go live on the streets if Dumbledore didn't take me in. Trained me as gamekeeper and gave me a place to live. Great man, that Dumbledore."

"Why were you expelled?" Hadrian asked.

Hagrid suddenly stopped in his tracks, took a sip of tea, munched on a rock cake, and then said cheerfully, "Well enough about me, what about you? What do you two fellers wanna know?"

Hadrian and Draco glanced at each other. Hagrid had obviously avoided the question just now, but since they were trying to be on Hagrid's good side, at least until he answered their questions, they decided not to press the issue. They didn't come here to listen to the giant's life story, anyways.

"We're really interested in three-headed dogs," Hadrian said. "They're exceedingly rare, especially here in Great Britain. We were wondering whether you knew anything about them?"

Hagrid nodded jovially. "'Course I know about them. I own one meself. They're seriously misunderstood creatures. Those Greek myths about that Cerberus guarding the gates of hell? Gave these creatures a really bad image, and now everybody thinks they're these vicious guardians that come from the underworld. All rubbish, if you ask me."

Hadrian and Draco shared another look. Draco nodded imperceptibly, answering Hadrian's unspoken question. They would tell Hagrid the truth.

"Do you know anything about the three-headed dog in the third floor corridor? He belongs to you, doesn't he? We think somebody's trying to steal whatever it's guarding." Hadrian stated the facts, blunt and to the point. He never liked to beat around the bush when trying to get a point across.

Hagrid dropped the teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?" he asked.

"_Fluffy?"_ Draco said, choking on his tea. "You named that monster _Fluffy?"_

"Hey, he's not a monster. I just told ya, they're seriously misunderstood creatures. And yeah – he's mine – bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year – I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-"

"Yes?" Hadrian and Draco said together, leaning forwards eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," Hagrid said gruffly. "That's top secret, that is. I thought you two came to ask about rare magical creatures?"

"But we think somebody's trying to _steal _it. And it's probably one of the Professors, too!"

"Rubbish," Hagrid said again. "Your Professors are great people. They'd do nothin' of the sort."

"But we're _certain_ that _something_ is gonna happen! Somebody's trying to steal whatever it is, and we need to do something about it!" Hadrian tried to convey his conviction through his words. Obviously, the giant didn't want to hear.

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid said hotly. "Now listen to me, both of yeh – yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. Don't go around askin' about this no more. You shouldn't know anything about it in the firs' place. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-"

"Aha!" Hadrian exclaimed. "So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looked furious with himself.

* * *

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to heath by Hagrid before they could fly off again, including Hadrian and Draco's owls, Hedwig and Sabor.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. Hadrian and Draco had been allowed to invite some friends to stay with them over the break, and Blaise and Pansy were looking forward to celebrating Christmas at Malfoy Manor. Severus would be staying at Hogwarts, marking the midterm exams and preparing for the new semester. Hadrian sighed as he sat in Potions class, watching his godfather teach the class about the importance of porcupine quills in a cure for boils. He rarely ever got to see Severus outside of school, and their meetings in school were always with a formal Professor and student atmosphere. Hadrian found himself missing his godfather's snarky comments and cold demeanor.

As Hadrian and Draco left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor up ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hagrid, we're in front of you," he told the man, who couldn't see because of the tree.

Hagrid stuck his head through the branches. "Oh, hey there, Draco, Hadrian," he greeted them. Since their first visit to Hagrid's hut to learn about the three-headed dog, Hadrian and Draco had been visiting the cheerful half-giant quite often, enjoying the reprieves that the hut gave them from the rest of the school activities. The giant, though at times overbearingly _Gryffindor, _was a nice companion when the two boys wanted nothing more than to have tea and chat about nothing in particular. Hagrid puffed as he adjusted his slipping grip on the tree. "Well, I'll just be going me way, then. Gotta take this thing up ta the Great Hall."

Hadrian and Draco looked at the puffing giant holding the enormous tree, and then they both shook their wands out from their sleeves. "_Wingardium Leviosa."_ The tree floated out of an astonished Hagrid's hands, supported by the twin spells. "Show us the way, and we'll take it for you," Hadrian said to Hagrid. "It seemed you were having trouble carrying it by yourself."

"Don't think we're doing this for you," Draco added. "It's just irritating to see somebody struggle so much carrying such a huge tree all through the school."

Hagrid chuckled. "Why you little buggers, tryin' to steal me job, eh? Thanks fer the help. Follow me."

Hadrian and Draco followed Hagrid up to the Great Hall, the tree levitating behind them through the corridors, much to the surprise of passing students and the odd ghost floating in the hallways. Entering through the large double doors into the Hall, McGonagall greeted them, while Flitwick was busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid. I thought I told you to bring up the last tree?" McGonagall asked when she saw him. Hadrian and Draco were blocked from her sight by Hagrid's large frame, as was the horizontally floating tree behind them.

Hagrid moved aside. "These two were nice enough ta help me carry it up," he said, gesturing to the boys. Hadrian and Draco stepped aside, letting the tree levitate towards McGonagall. She took out her own wand and set it up in its proper place.

"Indeed," McGonagall said with pursed lips, scrutinizing Hadrian and Draco under a sharp glare before her attention was diverted by Professor Flitwick accidentally falling off his ladder.

The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Just one," Hadrian answered. "We're gonna be going home for Christmas and New Years, though. We always have a Christmas ball at home, every year."

Draco nodded, then sighed heavily. "It's one of the downsides of being from one of the most renowned pureblood families in wizarding Britain. The ball is a part of family tradition, and there's really no way to get out of it. Besides, all the other notable pureblood families are invited as well."

Hagrid nodded. " Well, I guess I just can't understand you purebloods with all yer traditions and rules. But in any case, be careful, alright? Happy Christmas, you two."

"Happy Christmas," they chorused back. The giant smiled and stomped down the hall, probably off to cut down another tree for his own Christmas decorations.

* * *

"Have you got everything you need?" Draco asked yet again.

Hadrian rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at him. "Yes, Mother Draco," he said jokingly, snapping shut the clasps on his trunk.

Draco sighed. "I'm only making sure. You wouldn't want to forget anything, now."

Hadrian snorted and jumped on Draco, messing up his hair. "You treat me just like a little kid, Drake," he complained loudly.

"That's 'cause you act just like a little kid, Hades," Draco shot back, trying to pry Hadrian off of him. Hadrian stubbornly clung on. "Are you sure you didn't forget anything?"

Blaise and Pansy, who were already all packed and waiting for them in the Common Room, laughed when Draco continued to fuss over Hadrian. "Draco, I think Hades is fine," Blaise said. "Now hurry up. Your parents are going to come pick us up any minute, and I don't want to be late. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are intimidating enough as it is." Pansy nodded enthusiastically to show her agreement.

Hadrian looked up suddenly from where he was perched on Draco's back. "They're intimidating? I don't think so. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are the nicest parents in the world."

Draco sighed. "Hades, you're supposed to call them Mother and Father. They told you to call them that, remember?"

"Oh yeah, you're right!" Hadrian agreed, jumping off of Draco and waving his wand at his trunk, making it float along after him as they climbed the stairs to the entrance hall. "I'm so excited to see them again! And we even get to invite Blaise and Pansy over for Christmas! This is gonna be the best Christmas ever, Drake."

Draco sighed, but he couldn't help the smile that brightened his face. "I suppose so, Hades," he agreed reluctantly.

Meeting Narcissa and Lucius in the entrance hall, Hadrian and Draco immediately rushed up to them. "Mother, Father," Draco greeted politely, shaking hands with Lucius and kissing his mother on the cheeks. "It's great to see you again. Have you been well these past few months?"

Hadrian laughed and pulled them all into a big hug. "Drake, stop being so formal. We both missed you lots, Mother, Father."

Lucius and Narcissa, surprised by Hadrian's sudden hug, took a few seconds to react. But when they did, it was with warm smiles and hugs in return. "We missed you two as well, dears," Narcissa said with a smile, patting both her sons on their heads. "We're happy to see that both of you are doing quite well."

Lucius disengaged Hadrian from around his waist, clearing his throat slightly in embarrassment. Lucius wasn't the type to show such obvious affection, and was thus often regarded as a cold and commanding man. But Narcissa, Draco, and Hadrian all knew that Lucius was completely soft inside. "And I see that you have decided to invite the young Zabini and the lady Parkinson over as your guests for the Christmas break," Lucius said, holding out his hand to Blaise and Pansy.

Blaise took it and shook the hand, swallowing in his nervousness at being confronted with a man as formidable as Lucius Malfoy. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy. We've met a few times before, when you have invited my mother and I over to your home. Please, call me Blaise."

Pansy sunk down into an elegant curtsy – something all pureblood females were expected to perfect from the time they could walk – and gave Lucius a charming smile. "Please call me Pansy, Mr. Malfoy. It's a pleasure to see you again."

Draco snickered at their friends' formal greetings, and Narcissa gripped him on the shoulder. "Draco. Do not snicker at your friends' perfectly executed greetings. We expect you and Hadrian to do the same when greeting our guests for the ball."

Hadrian spun around quickly. "I beg your pardon?" he asked, shocked, though still managing to retain his pureblood etiquette.

Lucius turned to Hadrian with a gleam in his eyes. "You heard your Mother. We expect you and Draco to greet the guests for our annual ball at the Manor this year."

Draco shook off Narcissa's hand on his shoulder with a shrug. "What's this about, Mother, Father?" he asked with a frown. "Hadrian and I are greeting the guests? But you are the ones usually greeting them when they attend the ball.

Narcissa shook her head. "This year, you two will be the ones to greet our honored friends and acquaintances. It's already been decided," she said decisively, her tone indicating that she would accept no arguments.

Hadrian sighed. "Must we, Mother? We've never had to greet them before."

Narcissa turned her sharp gaze on Hadrian. "Yes, Hadrian, you must. Now that you two are of proper age to participate in the pureblood social circles, you must make the best impression as possible. And that is why, on Christmas day during the ball, you must present yourselves as the proper, upstanding young masters of Malfoy Manor that I know both of you are."

Hadrian and Draco looked at each other skeptically, before bowing their heads in front of their parents. "Yes, we understand," they said together, resigned to their task. They knew that once their parents had decided on something, there would be no arguing their way out of it.

"Whoa," Pansy whispered to Blaise as they watched the conversation between the elder Malfoys and their friends. "I've never thought that the two Princes of Slytherin would bow their heads to _anybody._ Guess the elder Malfoys really are that great, huh?"

Blaise nodded slowly. "It's satisfying to see that even the two greatest students Hogwarts has ever had still have somebody that they look up to," Blaise agreed. "At least we know that the two Princes aren't _completely _perfect. They still have to follow what their parents tell them. They're still just kids like us."

Pansy giggled.

Narcissa looked up with a smile at Pansy and Blaise, who were standing a little ways away from them to give them privacy during their conversation. "Pansy, Blaise. I apologize for taking up so much time with our conversation just now. Please, if you'll follow Lucius and I out of the Hogwarts gates, we'll be able to Apparate right back to the Manor. Come along, now."

They walked through the icy grounds to the great metal gates of Hogwarts. Stepping through the boundary for the anti-Apparition wards placed on Hogwarts grounds, Lucius took Draco and Hadrian by the hands, while Narcissa grabbed on to Pansy and Blaise. In just a second, they were gone with just the faintest crack in the air, and all that was left were their footprints in the snow.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry I missed the update last week! I know I said that I'd try and keep the updates pretty even from now on, and then I just went ahead and skipped a week… :P Anyways, hope you like the chapter! As always, please review!


	15. Malfoy Ball Part I

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

They appeared in the Manor's second parlor room with a slight crack. Narcissa and Lucius were cool and composed, immediately taking off their coats and gloves with the inborn grace of the purebloods. Hadrian and Draco, already used to the strange feeling of Apparition, only stumbled slightly when they appeared, and quickly recovered their composure. Blaise and Pansy, on the other hand, who had almost never side-along Apparated before, sank onto the couch as soon as their feet hit the ground, gasping. Blaise was looking distinctly pale under his dark skin, and Pansy was clutching her chest as if she was about to have a seizure. Their trunks, which had been brought through the Apparition tube with them, dropped onto the expensive carpet by their feet.

Blaise let out a long breath. "I don't understand how you guys can just stand there calmly and look at us," he said to Hadrian and Draco, who were observing their friends with amused grins. "That was bloody scary."

Pansy let out a breathy giggle. "I second that," she agreed, her hands shaking.

"First time side-along Apparating?" Narcissa asked kindly, smiling warmly at Blaise and Pansy.

"No, ma'am. I've done it once or twice before with my mother," Blaise responded respectfully, "But I've never gone such a great distance before."

"It was _my _first time," Pansy declared. "My parents prefer to use the Floo, and they've never taken me anywhere through Apparition before. I must say; I'm really surprised at the feeling."

Narcissa nodded in understanding. "Don't worry. You're first time jitters will go away after a while. You'll get used to Apparition as well, and it won't be quite so unpleasant anymore. Hadrian and Draco here have been side-along Apparating since they were nothing but infants, and now they have no problem going through the Apparition tube."

Pansy sighed. "Is there _anything _that Draco and Hades can't do?"

Hadrian stuck his tongue out at her. "We're not the Slytherin Princes for nothing, you know."

Narcissa laughed. "Well, you four can chat all you like. But first, let's get Blaise and Pansy settled in first, shall we?" She snapped her fingers, and with a crack a house elf appeared. "Dobby, put these trunks away in the bedrooms. Those two are Draco and Hadrian's, and the other two belong to our guests. Ready the red suite and the blue suite for our two visitors, and after that prepare our dinner."

Dobby gave her a low bow, his flappy ears almost reaching the ground by his feet. "As you wish, Mistress Narcissa," he said reverently, disappearing mid-bow with all the trunks in tow.

Lucius turned to the children and his wife, tucking his cane under his arm. "Excuse me, but I have some business to attend to," he said strictly. Walking towards the doors that led out of the parlor, he said over his shoulder, "Please do not disturb me unless absolutely necessary. You'll find me in the study." He swept out of the room, his robes billowing out behind him, with not even a backwards glance. Hadrian frowned.

"What's the matter with Father?" he asked Narcissa.

Narcissa looked down at Hadrian's worried face, and at the frowning expression of Draco right behind the dark-haired child. "Your father has been very busy lately with Ministry work," she explained gently. "There has been a robbery at Gringotts when your school term began, and though it seems that nothing was stolen, the newspapers and the wizarding world have been in chaos because of the fact that a thief had managed to actually get in to the most secure bank in our world. It's suspected that Dark magic was involved. Very strong, dark magic."

Pansy gasped. "But Mrs. Malfoy, Gringotts is supposed to be _impenetrable._"

Narcissa nodded. "That's why Lucius is so busy. As a Ministry official, he must investigate into this matter. He's been working with Aurors for the past few months to try and track down potential suspects. They've got no leads, even after months of investigating, which is why Lucius is under a lot of pressure right now."

Draco nodded in understanding. "Very well. We'll not disturb Father during our stay here. It's already enough to be back home."

"We'll be on our best behavior," Hadrian agreed.

Narcissa smiled at the two boys. "Thank you, darlings. Now, why don't you show our guests around the Manor? You could even go out in the garden; we have a nice blanket of snow out there. I'll be in the drawing room if you need me. Call the house elves if you get hungry before dinner is ready."

"Yes Mother," Hadrian and Draco said together. Narcissa smiled again, and then withdrew out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Blaise sagged on the couch. "Give me a second here. I still need to recover from that Apparition."

Hadrian laughed. "I didn't take you for the kind of person with a weak stomach, Blaise."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Anyone would be sick after a thing like that."

"We're not," Draco remarked, indicating Hadrian and himself.

Pansy sighed. "That's because you two are weird superhuman mutants," she declared. Blaise chuckled and agreed enthusiastically.

Hadrian jumped onto the armchair facing the couch that Blaise and Pansy were sitting on. "So, once you two have finished _recovering, _we'll show you up to your rooms, okay? You two haven't been here for _ages."_

Draco leaned against the back of Hadrian's armchair. "Come on, hurry up already. It's not that bad, you know. You shouldn't take so long getting your breath back after Apparating. What would others think, if they saw you two like this? You would be mocked for your inability to cope with it."

Blaise nodded and stood up. "Fine, fine. I know what you're getting at, Draco. It's not seemly for me to be so weakened after a simple side-along Apparition. It brings shame to our pureblood status. It is a blemish in my actions. You were implying all that, weren't you?"

Draco snorted. "Glad you were able to figure it out so fast. Guess you aren't as thick as you appear to be."

Blaise took a swing at Draco, which he promptly avoided by ducking behind the back of the armchair. Hadrian laughed. "Come on, guys. No fighting. We just got here, after all."

"But they're just taking so long," Draco complained, sneering at Blaise from behind his armchair shield.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Well, if you're so impatient, then let's go already.

Pansy huffed and got to her feet as well, smoothing out the rumples in her robes that had appeared after she'd collapsed on the couch. "Oh all right. Let's go, then," she said, her tone plainly indicating her irritation at being hurried.

Hadrian jumped off the armchair and smiled. "Follow us!" he said, opening the door out of the parlor, Draco following right behind. They led their two friends through the twist of hallways and secret passages through the Manor, guiding them to their rooms for the holidays.

* * *

"Wow."

"Merlin's beard."

Blaise and Pansy stood in front of their respective rooms, which were directly across from each other in the hallway. Pansy was facing a room decorated entirely in red, with crimson sheets to faint rose cushions. Blaise was likewise looking with astonishment at an entirely blue room, the wispy teal curtains drawn back to admit the bright winter sunlight.

"When Mrs. Malfoy said to ready the red suite and the blue suite, I didn't expect her to mean it _literally_," Pansy said, standing in the doorway of her room as if afraid to enter.

Hadrian shrugged. "Well, what else did you expect? It's not called the red suite and the blue suite for nothing you know."

Blaise shook his head. "I understand what Pansy means. This sort of extravagance is above even our standards, and the Parkinson and Zabini families aren't families that you can easily beat in terms of wealth, either. Really, who would have two guests rooms decorated entirely in the shades of only _one color?"_

"These aren't the only guest suites," Draco corrected idly, leaning against the wall and observing Blaise and Pansy's astonishment with some amusement. "This entire wing of the Manor is reserved purely for guests. And each room has a theme. I believe there are thirty rooms in total in our guest wing."

Pansy shuddered. "So many rooms, and all of them aren't even in regular use? Jeez. Only the Malfoys can come up with something like that."

"Are they all of a different color?" Blaise asked curiously.

"Sure," Hadrian replied. "There's the green suite, the purple suite, the gold suite, and the silver suite. And the white suite, and the-"

"Okay, okay," Blaise said hastily, interrupting Hadrian's recitation. "I get the idea. There're lots of suites. No need to tell me the colors of them all. I just don't see the need for all these rooms. Aren't they empty most of the time, anyways?"

"Of course there's a need for them. We get a lot of important visitors, you know. Besides, this is Malfoy Manor. You can't expect anything less than this." Draco smothered a yawn. "Now, if you're done just staring at your rooms, why don't you just go in already and get your stuff out of your trunks? Just standing and looking inside from the doorway won't get you anywhere, you know."

Pansy rolled her eyes and took a tentative step into her room, running her fingers over the scarlet wallpaper. "This is amazing," she whispered under her breath. "It's beautiful."

Hadrian jumped into the room as well, throwing himself onto the dark red couch. "Pansy, you don't have to be afraid to come in, you know. It's just a room."

Pansy huffed and strode directly to the end of the bed, where her trunk was waiting for her. Draco had followed Blaise into his room, to help him get settled into the blue suite. "Hey, where's _your _room, Hades? Blaise and I are in the guest wing, so where do you and Draco sleep? Blaise and I've both been here before, but we've never actually gone to your rooms. We were mostly just playing in one of the sitting rooms, and we've never really gone through the entire Manor before."

Hadrian scratched his head. "My room, huh? Hmm… well, I guess it's that way?" he said, suddenly pointing in a direction that to Pansy seemed to be chosen randomly.

She crossed her arms, frowning. "Really, Hades. I was hoping for something a little more… oh, I don't know, _specific?"_

Hadrian laughed. "All right, Pansy, since you seem to be so _eager_ to know where my room is, I'll tell you." Pansy blushed at the implication, and Hadrian smirked at her. "It's down the hall, to the right, back to the main house, up a flight of stairs that are just off the main lobby, then you turn left, enter the west wing, and go up a flight of stairs again to the tower. Draco and I have our rooms up there."

Pansy scrunched up her eyebrows in concentration as she tried to follow Hadrian's directions. "I'll never be able to figure out where anything is in this house," she finally decided, giving up.

"Well, you can always just summon a house elf if you get lost," Hadrian suggested. "There're lots down in the kitchens, and they're always happy to help."

Nodding, Pansy began to unpack her robes with a wave of her wand, making them hang themselves up in the mahogany closet beside the bed. "There we go," she said, smiling with satisfaction. "Now I'll be done in no time. Let's go see what Blaise and Draco are doing, okay Hades?"

Hadrian got up and opened the door for her. "Ladies first," he said gallantly, shooting Pansy a wink.

Pansy blushed and quickly went out into the hallway, opening the door of Blaise's room without a backwards glance at Hadrian. Hadrian grinned. It was fun teasing Pansy, if only because her reactions were so amusing to watch.

Blaise was unpacking. Manually. He was actually picking his robes out of his trunk and placing them on the hangers himself, without the aid of magic. Draco was lounging on the couch, observing the whole scene with a bored expression and not doing the least to help. Hadrian and Pansy both froze in the doorway.

"Blaise," Hadrian finally said, breaking the monotonous rustling of Blaise's cloaks as they were hung into the wardrobe, "What in the world are you doing?"

Blaise looked up from where he was lifting a new robe out of his trunk and placing it on the hanger. "I'm unpacking," he said, glowering at Draco, who had his eyes closed. "I didn't know the right spell to get my clothes to hang themselves, and since Draco refused to do it for me, saying that it was beneath him, I was forced to hang them up myself."

Pansy and Hadrian both immediately looked at Draco. The blond boy cracked open one eye and looked back at them, his expression plainly showing that he didn't think he'd done anything wrong. "If he doesn't want to hang his own clothes without magic, he should learn the bloody spell already," Draco said for an explanation, "He can't depend on others to help him all the time. Really, I'm helping him learn how to survive in the world. He should thank me for teaching him such an important life lesson." Hadrian and Pansy looked back at Blaise, standing at the foot of his bed with a hanger and a robe in his hands, his jaw dropped in absolute shock at Draco's conceited comment. Hadrian couldn't help it. He burst into laughter.

Draco smirked at the sound of Hadrian's laughter. Pansy soon dissolved into giggles as well, from the sheer expression on Blaise's face. Blaise, seeing that his friends weren't inclined to help him in the slightest, just went back to manually unpacking his trunk, muttering under his breath the entire time.

"Draco, that's so cruel," Pansy finally managed to gasp out from between her giggles.

Draco shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault Blaise never bothered to learn that spell," he said nonchalantly.

Hadrian went to sit beside Draco on the couch, leaning on the other boy. "Drake's got a point, you know," Hadrian said with a grin to the scowling Blaise and giggling Pansy. "You can't depend on anyone but yourself in this world."

Blaise raised his eyebrows. "Wise words for just an eleven year old," he commented. "You sound like an old man when you say that."

Hadrian shrugged. "I may sound like an old man, but this old man is giving you an invaluable piece of advice, so you better stop making fun of it."

Pansy snorted. "Whatever, Hades. But we're all friends, so we can depend on each other, right? We can help each other out, so it's not true that you can only depend on yourself all the time."

Blaise stared at her. "Does that mean you're gonna help me unpack?" he asked hopefully, holding the robe he was carrying out to her, as if just inviting her to do the unpacking spell for him so he wouldn't have to do it anymore.

Pansy grimaced. "Sorry, Blaise, but you'll have to manage by yourself. You really should've learned that spell already. It's incredibly handy."

Blaise's hopeful expression turned into a scowl again. "What happened to all that friends can depend on each other stuff you were spouting earlier?" he muttered, turning back to his unpacking.

Pansy just shrugged. "Hey, Blaise. It's a life lesson, remember? Unpack by hand once, and you'll never forget the unpacking spell again."

Hadrian laughed. "Like I said. You can never depend on anyone but yourself."

* * *

Three days later, the whole household was bustling with the preparations for the annual Christmas Ball at Malfoy Manor. Gone were the times where Blaise, Pansy, Hadrian, and Draco could just spend all day together exploring the gardens or playing in the library. Now that they were eleven years old and had started school at Hogwarts, the four were being forced to join in getting ready for the event. All of the most notable pureblood families and the most influential figures at the Ministry would be invited, and the Malfoy Ball was _the _most prestigious event of the Christmas season. Everybody who was anybody would be attending, and with such a high standard to uphold, the planning and the decorations all needed to be perfect.

Narcissa could be found directing entire troupes of house elves around the Manor, ordering the decorations to be put up, the right napkins to be chosen, and all seven courses of the feast to be cooked and sampled by her until she had no complaints. The gardens had to be swept of snow, the wards around the Manor had to be adjusted to admit their visitors, the fireplaces had to be charmed to produce no smoke or ashes. Two days before the night of the ball, Narcissa hardly had a moment to spare.

Lucius was likewise busy. His work had been piling up at the Ministry, and he spent each day in his study plowing through the endless paperwork and complaints that he had to read as a part of his job as Ministry official. Then he had to consider very carefully whom he would invite to the Ball. The power struggles among the pureblood circles in wizarding society were both subtle and highly dangerous, and even one wrong step in the invitations to a party could bring the mighty Malfoy family toppling from their position at the pinnacle of pureblood families. Lucius had already drawn up a list of whom he wanted to invite, and all he needed to do was give the list to one of the house elves and have it send out all the proper invitations.

Hadrian and Draco were on an errand for Narcissa, helping her to inspect each room in the Manor to make sure they were all in perfect condition. Blaise and Pansy were out in the gardens, helping to set up torches and candles lining all the walkways and paths. Poking their heads into each room, Hadrian and Draco swept through the house, declaring which rooms were up to par, and which rooms had to be cleaned up again by the house elves.

Reaching Lucius' study, Hadrian and Draco both knocked on the door respectfully, waiting for an answer. They had often gotten in trouble with their father before by entering without permission and disturbing him during his work, and now they were extra careful not to anger Lucius right before such an important event. They knew Lucius had to be under enough pressure as it was.

When no answer came, however, even after they knocked again, they cautiously opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Surprisingly, the study was empty.

"Think he went back to the Ministry using the Floo?" Draco asked.

"Probably," Hadrian replied. "He _did _say he was really busy with Ministry work. Maybe he went over today to deposit some papers or something."

Hadrian and Draco crept into the study. Of all the rooms in the Manor, this one was the room that they most respected and admired. It was the place where Lucius worked, and handled any matters of importance. Though they weren't usually allowed in on a regular basis, Narcissa's task was a good enough excuse for them to sneak inside and peak around for a while. Until Lucius got back, at least. Until that time, nobody had to know that they had been in there at all.

Draco and Hadrian immediately headed towards the desk. A large oak structure, it was strict and imposing. Dominating the entire room, the desk was sturdy and unadorned, a stark contrast to the extravagance of the rest of the Manor. The desk wasn't meant to be pleasing to the eye. It was meant to radiate the power and the pride of the Malfoy bloodline.

The top of the desk was cluttered and messy, with papers strewn about in no particular order, a wet quill dripping onto a scrap of parchment and an opened ink bottle with its contents slowly drying out. Hadrian chuckled. "Seems like Father hasn't had a chance to get a house elf to tidy his desk yet, huh?"

Draco smiled. "He _has_ been busy. He probably didn't have any time to spare thinking about cleaning his study."

Lucius, though intelligent and efficient, had absolutely no capacity to keep his workspace in order. Growing up with house elves cleaning everything up after him, Lucius just didn't understand the concept of tidying up after himself. Although a grown man and largely successful, he'd never once ordered his desk by himself. Lucius understood the importance of appearances, though, and neatness was an absolutely essential trait to project to the public. So after working and completing all his tasks, Lucius would always summon a house elf to return his desk to its usual impeccable appearance.

But this time, it seemed that Lucius had been too busy to do so. It was obvious that he'd gone through the Floo in a rush, and left his desk as it was. Hadrian climbed onto Lucius' impressive armchair behind his desk and surveyed the various documents and parchments scattered on the desktop. "Father sure has been busy, huh?" he said, reading excerpts from different pages and recognizing Lucius' signature on many of them, along with quite a few handwritten documents and notes. "Look at all this stuff."

Draco climbed up on the chair beside Hadrian. "Yeah," he agreed. "So this was what he was up to when he shut himself up in this study these past few days."

Hadrian flipped through a couple of pieces of parchment, just out of curiosity. "Looks like that investigation about the Gringotts break-in isn't going so well," he pointed out, showing Draco the pile of complaints that he'd picked up. "There still aren't any good leads, and apparently the criminal didn't leave any traceable tracks, except for the fact that they used Dark magic."

Draco pulled over a stack as well, following Hadrian's lead and revealing the edge of a long scroll of parchment sticking out just underneath, lined neatly with royal purple ink. Lucius' handwriting completely filled the five-foot long scroll, with the words _Invitations_ clearly penned out at the top. The scroll caught Draco's eye, and his expression slowly transformed into a grin with the realization of what he'd just found.

"Hey, Hades, take a look at this," Draco whispered excitedly, completely forgetting the stack that he'd pulled over, and instead extricating the piece of parchment from the rest of the mess on the desk. Holding it up so that the entire scroll was visible, Draco and Hadrian read through the list. "It's the invitations list of everybody attending the Malfoy Ball. Father probably hasn't had time to send out all the invitations yet."

Hadrian peered at the list. "Well, he's probably going to send them out tonight, then. The Ball is being held just the day after tomorrow, so tonight's the latest he can send them without it seeming too sudden."

Draco surveyed the list. "The Parkinsons and the Zabinis are both invited," he said. "Blaise and Pansy would meet their parents during the Ball, even though they're staying over for the entire winter break."

"The Goyles, the Crabbes, the Notts, and the Greengrasses are also on the list," Hadrian added. "Seems like everybody in our year in Slytherin and their families are coming."

"Hey look. The Flints are here as well. Just think, meeting our beloved Quidditch Captain for the Christmas holidays," Draco snickered, pointing out the name etched near the bottom of the list. "I just can't imagine Flint dressing up and attending such an event like our Christmas Ball."

"Bletchley and Higgs are invited too," Hadrian said, finding their names. "So is Bulstrode and Pucey. Guess all the proper pureblood lines are going to be here, hmm? Father's not taking any risks by exempting anybody from the invitations. He's probably trying to avoid giving anybody any reason to declare a blood feud on us because we forgot to invite them. We already have those blood-traitor Weasleys hating our guts anyways."

Draco quickly scanned through the rest of the list and smirked. "Only the most important people in our world are invited. Good. Father really does know how to choose the best guests to invite."

Hadrian studied the list, his brow furrowed. Suddenly, he perked up. "Hey, Drake, I have a great idea," he whispered enthusiastically, seizing one of the various quills scattered on the desk. Pulling the list of invites over, on the tiny available space at the very bottom, Hadrian scrawled in one name.

_Hermione Granger_

"Hadrian!" Draco whispered furiously, keeping his voice low in case Narcissa happened to be near and found them in their Father's study. "You know we can't invite a mudblood to our Ball! It's sacrilege! Mother and Father would both be _furious, _and the rest of the pureblood families would think we're insulting them by having a mudblood attend!"

Hadrian winked and shrugged, the spark of adventure in his green eyes. "Nobody would know until it was too late, anyways," Hadrian said, matching Draco's soft tone. "Father wouldn't even notice that we added her to the list, since he'll be so caught up in work that he wouldn't even glance at the list again, and the house elf he gives it to wouldn't dare to question whether she really should be invited or not. The owls would find her and deliver the letter, and none of the guests or our parents would know. They'll only see her on the day of the Ball, and no one would know at once that she's a mudblood anyways."

Draco shook his head so hard his normally impeccable hair was shaken from its perfection. "No way, Hades. I know you like pranks and jokes, but this is going too far. Just think about all the things that could go wrong! Father _hates _Muggles; you know that. He would _never _let you off for doing something like this!"

"But just think. None of the other pureblood families would know that Hermione's a mudblood. Only the ones in our class at Hogwarts would even know that she wasn't a Slytherin, and I'm sure we can make them keep quiet about this. Father and Mother would just think she was one of the children of some other family, and the other families would think the same. Nobody would know."

"No way." Draco crossed his arms and gritted his teeth. "I've gone along with you in all your tricks and pranks, but no way am I agreeing with this. If you get found out, we're all going down. Our family, our status, even our reputation. Besides, it's not like Granger's an especially close friend anyways."

Hadrian narrowed his eyes. "Her name's _Hermione, _Drake_. _And no, we might not talk to her every day, but she's definitely one of our friends, just like Blaise and Pansy. Besides, don't you think she deserves better than to spend the holidays alone at home, with nothing but her Muggle parents for company? Think of how horrible that would be. She would have to interact with those Muggle parents of hers every day, and she wouldn't even be able to talk about _anything _with them, since they're Muggles and they're just too thickheaded to understand."

Draco suppressed an involuntary shudder at the thought of having nobody to talk to but two plain _Muggles. _"You're right, that must be _horrible_," he said, his tone full of pity towards Hermione Granger's horrible fate of having Muggle parents. "It's a wonder anyone can stand having Muggles as parents. I can't imagine how that must be like."

Hadrian nodded. "Yeah, exactly! You understand what I'm trying to say, right? So if we invite Hermione over for the Ball, she wouldn't have to stay as long with her Muggle parents anymore! It's perfect! She must be suffering anyways because she doesn't even have any magical friends she can be with over the holidays. I swear, I don't even think she's allowed to practice magic while with those Muggles. It would be wonderful for her to be here!"

Draco, who had been looking more and more sympathetic to Hermione's situation, immediately wiped the frown off his face and replaced it with one of iron determination. "No way."

"Why not Draco?" Hadrian whined, pulling on Draco's arm and giving him the best puppy face he could.

Draco pushed Hadrian's face away so he wouldn't have to look at Hadrian's forlorn expression and have his determination waver. "Because it's a bad idea. It may be beneficial to _her, _since she's nothing but a mudblood with no status nor reputation to uphold. But to _us, _we would be the ones who are cursed with a ruined image and the distaste of the entire pureblood society. Think of the consequences, Hadrian!"

Hadrian sighed and pouted. "Fine, Draco," he finally acquiesced.

They crept out of the study as quietly as they could, after rearranging everything on the desk back to the way it was before. "Guess we just have to do more preparations now," Hadrian said gloomily, his chance of fun taken away.

"Think of it this way. The more that we do now, the faster it'll be over," Draco suggested, in an unusually good mood because he had actually gotten Hadrian to actually listen to him, for once.

* * *

The night of the Malfoy Ball, Narcissa was doing last minute checks to make sure everything was perfect before the first guests arrived. "Mother, the garden is ready, and the lights that you instructed to be set up are all glowing and in the right places," Draco and Hadrian reported to her.

"That's great, dears. I believe I just sent Blaise and Pansy upstairs to put on their clothes for the Ball. You two should hurry up and go as well. The guests will be arriving in less than an hour." Narcissa turned back to where she was making fresh flowers bloom from the end of her wand and arranging them in a stunning display vase in the center of the mantelpiece. The first thing that the guests would see when they entered the ballroom would be the magnificent roaring fireplace, along with the flower display and tapestries on either side with the Malfoy coat of arms emblazoned over them.

Draco and Hadrian bowed to her before leaving through the great wooden doors of the ballroom. They were on their best behavior, and their manners were impeccable when they put their minds to it. Climbing up the grand staircase to their rooms, they quickly dressed in the dress robes that the house elves had set out for them, and then visited Blaise and Pansy over in the guest wing to see how they were getting along.

"Blaise! How dare you steal my emerald necklace?" As soon as they entered the guest wing, Pansy's shriek of rage could be heard from all the way down the hallway. Hadrian and Draco looked at each other with wide eyes, and then quickly ran towards the two suites their friends were staying in. If Blaise and Pansy got into a fight now, so close to the start of the Ball, disaster would ensue.

"What's wrong?" Hadrian asked, first to reach the two rooms. Both doors were open, revealing Pansy standing framed in her doorway wearing an elegant evening gown of green satin and white elbow-length gloves, her dark hair up and gleaming in a bun held in place by an emerald and silver tiara. Emerald drops hung on her ears, and all that was needed was the necklace to finish the stunning image.

Seeing her, Hadrian gave a low whistle and a grin. "Whoa, Pansy," he said with surprise. "You look absolutely beautiful this evening. Great dress."

Pansy blushed, her pink cheeks presenting a lovely image when contrasted with her fair skin and dark green dress. "Why thank you, Hadrian," she said graciously in response. "And you look very dashing in those dress robes of yours."

Draco rushed up, the coattails of his robes flapping out behind him. "Enough chatter," he interrupted irritably. "What's the matter? Pansy, you said Blaise took your necklace?"

Pansy immediately regained her scowl, which she'd momentarily forgotten when Hadrian had arrived. "Yes. Blaise asked me to straighten out the wrinkles in his dress robes for him, since he apparently doesn't know _that_ spell either, and when I refused, Blaise took my necklace and said he wouldn't give it back until I did it for him."

"That's not true!" Blaise's voice came from within the depths of his room. "You promised that you'd help me get ready, Pansy, since you _know_ that I haven't bothered to learn any of those ridiculous self-grooming spells that you females seem to be obsessed with. But when I asked you earlier, you refused, saying that you were too busy getting ready yourself! You _said _that you'd help me, Pansy! And I'm not letting you finish getting ready until you do what you promised!"

"I'll help you when I'm done preparing myself!" Pansy screeched in reply. "So just give it back already!"

"You said that you'd be done in an hour, and then you'll help me! That was three hours ago!"

Draco sighed and ran a hand over his hair, smoothing out the rumpled strands. "Be quiet," he ordered in a quiet voice, scowling.

Neither Pansy nor Blaise heard him. Instead, they continued to shout and bicker at each other, making no progress at all in resolving the conflict. Hadrian tried to calm both of them down, but his efforts were futile.

"SHUT UP," Draco yelled, completely furious. The temperature in the hallway suddenly plunged, making Pansy shiver in the unexpected cold. Draco glared at her, and then at Blaise, who had come out to his doorway to better be able to argue his point. "You two are acting childish and petty. Blaise, return Pansy's goddamn necklace already, and Pansy, stop fussing with your jewelry and makeup and just help Blaise get ready. He doesn't even have his robes on yet, for Merlin's sake. Just hurry up and resolve this stupid matter. The Ball is about to start."

Pansy and Blaise, surprised and a little scared at Draco's rare display of anger, nodded quickly, none of them willing to confront Draco when he was in such a mood. "Here," Blaise said, summoning Pansy's diamond and emerald necklace and giving it to her. Pansy drew her own wand from her sash and waved it at Blaise. Almost instantaneously, the dress robes that he had been holding in his arms replaced his undershirt, leaving Blaise looking perfectly groomed and ready in completely wrinkle-free robes.

"Good. Now behave yourselves and act like the proper pureblood heirs that you are. The Ball is in just half an hour, and I will not have my family's name shamed because we invited two uncontrollable houseguests for the holidays." Draco crossed his arms and clenched his jaw, as if daring anyone to try and disobey him. "Since you're both properly dressed and ready, I don't want to hear any more complaints from either of you. Both of you are Slytherins with impeccable family lines, not two squabbling _Muggles. _Do you understand?"

Blaise and Pansy nodded glumly as reply. Draco tilted his chin sharply to acknowledge their answers, but didn't move from his position in the center of the hallway. Neither Blaise nor Pansy moved either, and Hadrian was the one who finally broke the tense silence. "Well," he said, tugging on the hems of his sleeves and taking a deep breath. "So. Since we're all ready now, shall we go down? I do believe Mother would be looking for us, as Drake and I are supposed to greet the guests when they start arriving."

Hadrian looked at Draco, sending him a silent signal to follow. Draco sighed, but went with Hadrian's lead, walking together down to the entrance hall to greet their visitors. "It's okay, Drake. It was just a small argument," Hadrian said quietly, putting a hand on Draco's shoulder to comfort him.

Draco nodded and gave Hadrian a weak smile. "Do you think I overreacted a bit?" he asked sheepishly, all traces of his stubborn pride and cold demeanor gone. Hadrian was the only one to whom Draco would reveal any weakness.

Hadrian shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, I think you were actually really impressive back then," he admitted. "I don't think I could've gotten them to stop fighting so quickly."

Draco smiled. "Thanks, Hades."

Blaise and Pansy followed along at a discreet distance behind them, both still in shock from Draco's reprimands and determined to be on their most mature behaviors for the rest of the night, so that they wouldn't be called shameful by their friends again.

* * *

"Hello and welcome, Mr. Nott, Theodore," Draco and Hadrian said at the same time, standing on either side of the great doors that led to the ballroom where the other guests were gathering. The doors were thrown wide open, letting the guests enter without any trouble. The Notts were always punctual and stately people, as a whole, and they were the first to arrive.

"Ah, you two must be the two boys everyone seems to be talking about nowadays," Mr. Nott said with a smile, his white mustache quivering as he spoke. Mr. Nott was at an advanced age, and after the death of his wife, had raised Theodore by himself without ever taking on a second wife. "Draco Malfoy and Hadrian, I believe?"

Hadrian and Draco bowed respectfully. "At your service, sir," they replied at the same time. Mr. Nott chuckled at their identical replies.

"Well, you boys are certainly well paired," he commented. "Theodore here has told me much about you. Making quite a name for yourselves at Hogwarts, aren't you?"

"We believe that in order to succeed in life, we must first gather experience during our schooling years," Draco said.

"To prepare ourselves for positions of influence in the future, we are taking the first step by making important acquaintances and friends at school right now," Hadrian finished.

Mr. Nott nodded contemplatively. "Well said," he praised. "Did you hear that, Theodore? You should aspire to be more like these two boys right here. I understand that you share many of the same classes together?"

"Yes, Father," Theodore said, his eyes lowered.

"Well, Draco, Hadrian. I hope you can take care of my son in the future. I believe you two will be an excellent influence to my Theodore here."

Hadrian smiled. "Yes, sir. Theodore is already one of our friends. He's really quite adept in class, and is especially talented in transfiguration. I think he's a fine son you have."

Theodore shot Hadrian a small smile of thanks, and Hadrian winked. "Why, that's good to hear," Mr. Nott said, not sounding particularly convinced.

"Well, in any case, please, enjoy yourselves tonight," Draco said, directing the two into the ballroom and turning to the next guests entering from the entrance hall.

"Thank you very much," Mr. Nott said, sweeping into the ballroom with Theodore following right behind.

Hadrian and Draco continued to greet their guests until they had all arrived, and only then were they permitted to enter the ballroom and enjoy the party themselves. Narcissa had given them strict instructions not to cause any problems that night, especially since they had shattered the ice sculptures that had been the feature of last year's Ball. Both Hadrian and Draco understood the importance of doing nothing to disrupt the order for their guests.

"That took a long time," Hadrian sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I can't believe we're expected to do that every year from now on."

Draco slapped Hadrian's hands away from his hair. "Don't do that, Hades. You're messing it up more than it already is." Hadrian stuck his tongue out, but allowed Draco to pat at his hair, attempting to tame the wild curls. "And now that we're attending school, I suppose greeting the guests during every Christmas Ball we hold is a way for us to meet and become acquainted with all the important people in our world," Draco continued. "If you think about it like that, Mother and Father are actually giving us a great opportunity when they make us do this."

"I guess so," Hadrian said, reluctantly admitting the truth in Draco's words.

Marcus Flint approached them as they were standing there and talking. Flint was holding a large plate piled high with delicacies that the buffet had to offer, and he was munching enthusiastically, seeming to be in a good mood for once. "Hey you brats," he greeted them, coming over to stand beside them both.

"Hello, Captain," Hadrian and Draco greeted respectfully. They had met Flint and his parents when they had first entered, but they hadn't really talked.

"Nice party you've got going here," Flint said, chewing on some unidentifiable crunchy object. "Great food."

"We appreciate your compliments," Draco said coldly. Hadrian snickered. He could tell that Draco was disgusted with Flint's vulgar manners and way of speaking, especially in such a high-class party as theirs.

Flint, however, didn't seem to even notice Draco's distaste. "I knew you two brats were rich, but not _this _rich. I say; you Malfoys must be the richest wizarding family in all of Great Britain."

Hadrian winced. Saying that out loud in a gathering of the most powerful wizards in Britain was a very dangerous thing to do, and the Malfoys would be the target of a lot of unpleasant responses if Flint's comment were heard. Already, some heads were turning in their direction, frowns on the guests' faces.

"Uh, Captain. I'm sure you don't mean that," Hadrian said nervously, holding his hands up to ward off any more risky statements. "Thank you very much for the compliment to us, your hosts, but really, we don't deserve such high praise."

Draco caught on to the disaster Hadrian was trying to prevent. "I agree," he said hastily, his displeasure at Flint's mannerisms forgotten for the moment. "We thank you for such eloquent praise, but I'm sure many other families can also hold such celebrations as grand as the one we have here. Your compliments to us are much too great for us to receive them."

The guests who had been concerned turned away again, satisfied that the comment had only been made as part of thanking the two young masters of the house for the party. Hadrian breathed a sigh of relief. They had managed to fool them so they wouldn't take the comment seriously.

Draco scowled after Hadrian gave the okay signal to mean that nobody was looking at them anymore. "Captain," Draco hissed through his teeth, his face maintaining an outwardly pleasant expression in case anyone happened to glance over at them. "I would ask you to please not make such comments here, in this place. You must understand the repercussions of such words, especially if someone undesirable were to have heard them."

Flint raised his eyebrows, scrutinizing the two boys. Hadrian was also putting on a fake smile, and was moving his lips to pretend that he was taking part in pleasant conversation. Draco was smiling as well, though his glare was clearly evident, sharply watching his Quidditch Captain in case he tried to say something stupid again.

Flint laughed. "You little brats!" he said, spraying food out of his mouth as he spoke. Draco's fake smile faltered, while Hadrian snorted, trying to suppress his laughter. "So you already play the politics game, huh? Jeez, when I was your age, all I was concerned about was food and Quidditch."

"It seems that is still the only things you are concerned about, Captain," Draco said, his fake expression becoming painful to keep on his face.

Flint shrugged away the jab. "Well, in my opinion, it's much better than being all sneaky and calculating like all the grown-ups," he reasoned. "Besides, I don't want anything to do with politics later on in life. I'm going to be a professional Quidditch player. And I don't give a hippogriff's arse what my parents think of it, I'm going to play Quidditch all my life."

Hadrian smiled, a real one this time. "It's great that you have enough determination to choose your own future, Captain," he said, genuine admiration in his tone. "I wish you luck, when you graduate."

Flint smirked. "I'm not so desperate as to be wanting luck from a brat like you," he sneered. "But still, with the Quidditch talent that you two have, you may become serious rivals in the future if you join the Quidditch leagues as well."

Hadrian and Draco looked at each other. In truth, they had often dreamed of being professional Quidditch players when they were children. "We'll see," they said together to Flint, smiling. "We're still only first-years, after all."

Flint nodded and walked away, still eating from his plate. As he turned, Hadrian and Draco heard him mutter, "Only first-years and already playing the politics game. Scary little brats."

They laughed together, covering their mouths so the sound wouldn't disrupt the other guests, who were chatting quietly amongst themselves.

"Hey, is that Severus?" Hadrian suddenly asked, glimpsing a figure clothed entirely in black making his way through the crowd and towards the huddle of men that were clustered around Lucius. Narcissa was away on the other side of the hall, chatting with a group of ladies.

Draco peered through the crowd and saw lanky black hair and a hooked nose. "Yep, that's him," he agreed. "Nobody else would look so dour during a Christmas celebration."

Hadrian smacked Draco on the arm, then made his way through the other guests towards his godfather. Draco sighed, but inevitably followed.

"Unicorn blood, all over the Forbidden Forest," Severus was saying to Lucius under his breath as they approached, so soft that none of the people around them could hear. "Think he's out there somewhere, barely surviving. He's going to try and get _that_ to regain his human form, there's no doubt about it, despite all the protection we've set up this year. And I know that he's already planted a spy within the Professors. Even though I'm not absolutely certain, I have a strong suspicion on who it is."

Draco and Hadrian stopped short, straining their ears to catch more of the two men's conversation. They missed Lucius' soft reply, but Severus' muttered response was heard. "No, the two boys don't know anything. Hadrian was getting a little suspicious, but I've warned him already. So far, they haven't done anything related to _that."_

Draco and Hadrian tried to creep slowly away, but before they could, Severus whirled around and his hands reached out, clamping on both their shoulders. "Hadrian, Draco," Severus said tonelessly. "How long have you been standing behind us?"

Hadrian smiled nervously. "We actually just came, Severus. We were going to greet you, since you arrived late and we haven't had a chance yet."

"We didn't hear anything you were talking about, if that's what you're concerned about," Draco added, trying his best to ignore the glare Lucius was sending his way.

Severus looked at them with his piercing black eyes, but finally relaxed his death hold on their shoulders. "Very well," he relented with a sigh. "If you didn't hear anything, then I guess it should be fine."

Hadrian nodded. "Yeah. So, now that we've said hello, Drake and I will just, uh, go now."

Draco inched away, pulling Hadrian slowly back with him. "So nice to see you again outside of Hogwarts, Severus. Please enjoy the celebration." That said, the two boys turned and walked as quickly as they could away from Severus and Lucius without appearing to be unnaturally rushing.

"Keep an eye on them, will you, Severus?" Lucius said in his softest tone. "I've raised those two together, and I know that they're up to something."

Severus narrowed his eyes. "I'll be sure to keep them in line," he answered. The two men shook hands, though it was more of a gripping match than actually shaking. Lucius and Severus would never exactly get along.

"Hey, did you hear what they were talking about?" Hadrian whispered excitedly as soon as they were out of the two men's earshot.

Draco nodded thoughtfully. "It can't be about anything other than what's beyond the trapdoor. And Severus even said that whatever's trying to steal it already has a spy planted among our Professors."

"That decides it," Hadrian announced, "As soon as the holidays are over, as soon as we get back to Hogwarts, we'll go down that trapdoor right away. If we take whatever the thing is before the spy can get to it, then whatever's trying to steal the thing in the first place wouldn't have any idea where it's gone."

"Alright," Draco agreed reluctantly, "But what about-" Draco was interrupted when Pansy and Blaise rushed up to them. Immediately, Draco stopped talking, not willing to reveal their secret to the other two.

"Hadrian, Draco!" Pansy squealed, not even noticing how Draco had suddenly stopped talking when she and Blaise appeared, "You would _never _guess what we just saw."

Hadrian tilted his head to the side, thinking. "A griffin suddenly broke through the Manor's wards and started rampaging around the garden, eating all of Mother's roses?" he asked.

Blaise snorted. "No, something even more astonishing than _that."_

Frowning, Draco raised one eyebrow in a perfect arch, waiting. "So, what is it, then?" he asked impatiently.

"Come on." Pansy grabbed Hadrian by the wrist and led them through the groups of chattering guests, Draco and Blaise following along behind them. "Look at _that."_

They looked towards where Pansy was pointing with one perfectly manicured fingernail. Draco stopped in his tracks and Hadrian gasped.

"Is that," Draco began, swallowing past the lump in his throat.

"_Hermione Granger?"_ Hadrian finished, his whispered words like a peal sounding the prelude to disaster.

* * *

**Author's Note: **You'll notice that I made Hadrian and Draco slightly arrogant in regards to Hermione's muggle upbringing. But since they're purebloods, and were raised in a strictly anti-muggle environment, they do harbor feelings of superiority over the non-magic Muggles, and thus they believe Hermione to be unhappy to spend the Christmas with her parents.

Oh, and sorry for the cheesy ending. I know 'prelude to disaster' isn't so very creative, but I was watching D-gray man today and the episode names were what inspired me. I know, kinda lame, but I had no idea how to end this chapter anyways. Continuation of the Malfoy Ball in the next chapter. :P


	16. Malfoy Ball Part II

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Blaise nodded with wide eyes. "Yes, that is. Muggle dress and all. How on earth did she manage to come here? A mudblood at a party such as this, it's almost inconceivable."

Draco grabbed Hadrian and pulled him slightly away from Blaise and Pansy, who were staring at Hermione, standing by the wall and looking distinctly uncomfortable among the rest of the glamorous guests, with wide-eyed shock. "Hadrian," Draco whispered furiously, "I thought you said that we _wouldn't _invite her to the Ball."

Hadrian shook his head. "I didn't! After you told me that we shouldn't, I didn't mess with Father's invitation list anymore! I only wrote her name that one time, before you told me to take it off-" Hadrian choked on his words mid-sentence. Draco realized what Hadrian was about to say.

"You didn't erase her name from that list, did you?" he asked with dawning horror.

"After we argued about whether we should invite her or not, we left the study without taking her name off the list," Hadrian said with the same expression of terrible realization. "The house-elf sent the owl with her invitation, and she showed up here today."

Draco closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bloody hell," he swore.

Hadrian took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's calm down. We'll do damage control. Nobody who knows who she is but Blaise and Pansy has seen her yet. We can still salvage this situation."

"This is all your _fault,"_ Draco hissed. "Why on earth did you have to go and write her name on the invitations list? I _told _you we shouldn't have done anything."

Hadrian grimaced. "I'm sorry." He really did mean it. Hadrian knew the importance of the annual Malfoy Ball. It wasn't just a simple Christmas celebration; it was a way for the Malfoy family to reinforce their superiority to their competitors every single year. All the guests who had been invited, they were all part of powerful and influential groups that, when angered, could completely bring down the Malfoy line. If the Ball ended in disaster, so would the Malfoy family.

Draco sighed. "Hadrian," he said softly, disappointment in his voice. That was all he said.

Hadrian clenched his hands within the sleeves of his robes, willing himself not to cry. He hated it when Draco was disappointed in him. He hated it.

Lifting his head sharply, Hadrian scowled, new determination flaring up. He wouldn't let Draco be disappointed any longer. He was going to fix this problem that he started, and he would fix it perfectly.

"Pansy, Blaise," Hadrian called, rushing over to their side and leaving Draco alone. "This is top secret, alright? This is a prank that I came up with, to see if I could sneak someone in to crash the party. You can't tell any of the grownups about this, alright?"

Blaise's eyebrows rose until they were nearly at his hairline. "_This _is _your _prank, Hadrian?" he whispered with astonishment. "Do you _understand_ the consequences of this? There are _so_ many things that can go wrong with this."

Hadrian narrowed his eyes. "I know. That's why I'm asking for your help."

"Our help? What can we possibly do?" Pansy asked nervously, fidgeting with the wispy green shawl around her shoulders.

"Listen to me," Hadrian commanded. "Go around to all our friends from Hogwarts, everyone that knows Hermione's face and knows that she's a mudblood from Gryffindor. Tell them about this, and make them swear on their magic that they won't tell any of the grownups. Ever. Can you do that for me?"

Pansy's lower lip trembled. "But what if we get found out?" she asked, her voice low and scared. "I don't want to be blamed for this as well. Mr. Malfoy would be absolutely terrifying when he's furious. Nobody's ever _dared_ to do something like this before."

"I'll take full responsibility. If anybody finds out, I'll say that I was the one behind it all. You two had nothing to do with it." After a pause, Hadrian looked down and added, "Neither did Draco."

Blaise stayed silent. Instead, he was looking at Hadrian, and back at Draco who was still standing apart from their group. "Fine," Blaise suddenly agreed. "Because it's you, Hades. I know that you didn't mean to do something so completely disastrous like this. I'll help."

Pansy whipped her head around at Blaise's agreement. "Well," she said slowly, if Blaise is helping, then I guess I will too," she reluctantly said.

Hadrian breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he whispered.

Blaise clapped Hadrian on the shoulder. "You owe me another one now, mate. I'll make sure to collect these favors in the future. Possibly when we're grown up and rivals in the Ministry. You'll have to do remember this, alright?"

Hadrian smiled. Purebloods never did anything for free. It was something he already knew well. "I'll remember, Blaise," he said. "And thank you. You too, Pansy."

Pansy blushed again. "Well, um, it's for the sake of our friendship," she said hastily, grabbing Blaise and pulling him away towards Crabbe, Goyle, Bulstrode, and Theodore. "We'll start with the students in our year, and then work our way up," Hadrian heard her say to Blaise.

"You got a plan?" Draco asked from right behind Hadrian's shoulder. It would've made everyone else jump, since Draco had been absolutely silent when approaching, but Hadrian already knew Draco would be there.

"Just sit back and enjoy the party, Draco," Hadrian answered, not even looking back. "I'm gonna fix this. This is my responsibility."

Music started up, the players in a discreet corner of the room. A violin, a viola, a cello, and a piano wove a bright and cheerful melody throughout the ballroom. The sound was magically enhanced to sound as if it was coming from all around the room, and not only from a single corner. Narcissa, standing in the middle of the ballroom with Lucius at her side, announced, "Welcome, guests, to our annual Malfoy Ball. Please, enjoy yourselves this evening. Refreshments are on tables at either side of the ballroom. Now, let the dancing begin!"

A wave of polite clapping went up, and an area was cleared in the center of the room to make space for the dancers. Lucius and Narcissa, as the hosts of the party, were obviously the ones to start the dance. Gradually, others joined in, until the center of the ballroom was a swirl of people, laughing, chattering, and dancing.

Hadrian nodded to himself. Everything was going exactly on schedule. Now it was time to start the second phase of the plan.

While everyone was busy starting up the dance, Hadrian slowly made his way towards Hermione, standing alone by the wall. Nobody talked to her, but there were suspicious glares sent her way as the other guests wondered what she, who so obviously did not belong, was doing at the party.

Hadrian sighed. This was what he had been afraid of. Hermione was so out of place that the rest of the guests could do nothing _but _notice her. While the rest of the guests carried themselves with the poise and mannerisms of the wizarding world's top leaders, Hermione, a simple muggleborn, had no chance of matching their posture or their radiating charisma. It was a stark contrast, one that even a simpleton's eyes could see.

But before Hadrian could reach Hermione, he was stopped by a call from Narcissa. Turning, Hadrian found Narcissa smiling down at him, two girls in tow. Draco had also been caught by Narcissa, and was standing beside her with one of the girls on his arm, his fake smile in place but his eyes sparking with contained irritation.

"Yes, Mother?" Hadrian asked politely with a bow, his most dazzling grin on his face. If he acted suspicious, Narcissa would notice it at once, and then the whole situation with Hermione would be revealed. "What did you need me for?"

Narcissa beamed, seeming to be quite self-satisfied. "Hadrian. Are you enjoying the party so far?"

"Of course, Mother," he replied, "It's been absolutely wonderful. I've already met many of my friends from Hogwarts."

"That's great, darling," Narcissa said, her smile widening until it was almost frightening. Hadrian gulped. It was Narcissa's scheming face. "If you've met many of your friends from Hogwarts already, then you should have met dear Daphne here." Narcissa pushed the girl who was still single forwards. Hadrian looked around wildly. He knew that there had been a girl named Daphne in his year, but he'd never actually spoken to her. He had heard Pansy mention her several times, but he'd never known her personally.

"Hello," he said to the girl. She was resplendent in a deep blue dress, diamonds on the hems making the fabric shimmer. Her chestnut hair was loosely bound at the back, letting it fall in wavy curls down her back. Narcissa looked pointedly at Hadrian, reminding him of his manners. Hadrian suppressed a sigh, but did as he knew he should.

Taking the girl's hand in his, he bowed elegantly over it, his lips stopping just an inch from her fingers. "Pleasure to meet you," he breathed, his breath tickling the girl's fingers. Looking up but keeping his head bowed over the girl's hand, Hadrian gave her a wink. She blushed, and from the corner of his eyes, Hadrian saw Draco smother a smirk.

Grinning, Hadrian straightened up and let the girl take back her trembling fingers. Draco rolled his eyes at Hadrian's playboy antics. Narcissa, on the other hand, seemed delighted.

"Hadrian, these two girls, Daphne and her little sister, Astoria, are from the very old and wealthy family of the Greengrasses. They are, in a word, perfect pureblood ladies."

Hadrian nodded, recalling the information he already knew about the Greengrasses. They were one of the oldest families with a noble name, and were well regarded in the inner circles of the Ministry. Mr. Greengrass, Daphne and Astoria's father, had died several years ago from old age, and their mother had raised them both hoping that they would eventually marry into wealthy pureblood families. The pieces clicked together in Hadrian's head. Narcissa was trying to set him and Draco up with the two girls. Looking past Narcissa's shoulder, Hadrian saw Mrs. Greengrass watching them with a contented expression. Mrs. Greengrass had probably talked Narcissa into this.

Looking at Draco, Hadrian knew that he'd figured it out as well. Sighing, Hadrian knew he had no choice now, since Narcissa seemed to be set on getting the four of them together. Keeping his smile on his face, Hadrian quickly calculated how long a single dance would last, and whether he would be able to leave Hermione by the wall alone in that time. But seeing as he had no choice, Hadrian decided to take a gamble.

"Lady Greengrass," Hadrian said, bowing again to Daphne, who Narcissa was holding out in front of him like a new set of robes waiting for his approval. "May I ask you for this dance?"

Daphne's blush deepened, while her little sister Astoria, who was hanging onto Draco's arm, squealed in excitement. Narcissa looked pleased, while Draco just kept his fake smile plastered on his face.

"I would be honored," Daphne replied, taking Hadrian's outstretched hand. Hadrian led the girl out to the center of the dance floor, in the middle of all the other swirling dancers. Hadrian saw Narcissa turn to Draco after he left with Daphne, most likely trying to convince him to dance with Astoria as well.

Taking Daphne by the waist, Hadrian smiled at her. She was looking distinctly nervous. "Um, excuse me," she said, her voice barely a squeak.

Hadrian sighed. If the girl was too nervous, it would take even longer for this to be over with. "What is it?" he asked, some of his frustration seeping through his tone.

The girl flinched. Sighing, Hadrian forced his face into a tender expression. "What is it?" he asked again, his tone much gentler and friendlier than before. "Please, call me Hadrian. Ask me whatever you would like."

Daphne relaxed again, though she still looked nervous. "I, um, I'm not very good at dancing," she whispered.

Hadrian had to lean in to hear her words, and when he heard them, he resisted the urge to snap at her. If she wasn't very good at dancing, what was the point of accepting his offer to dance, for Merlin's sake? Smiling, he said, "Not to worry. The male is the one who leads. Just follow me, and you'll be fine."

She nodded uncertainly. The first note of the music rang out through the hall, and they began.

She had been telling the truth. She really wasn't very good at dancing. Hadrian had to smother several grimaces when she accidentally stomped on his toes, or almost tripped over her own dress. Sweeping her around the dance floor, Hadrian did his best to cover up her mistakes. Seeing Pansy and Blaise by the sidelines, apparently finished talking with the other students who might recognize Hermione, Hadrian got an idea and steered Daphne and himself towards them.

"Hermione, over by the wall," he muttered to them as he and Daphne swept pass Pansy and Blaise.

Pansy and Blaise looked at each other, confused. Blaise frowned, but Pansy just shrugged and returned to glaring at Daphne, who had relaxed enough to laugh while Hadrian pulled and spun her around amongst the dancers.

"Make sure nobody finds out," Hadrian continued as Daphne and himself passed Pansy and Blaise again. After a few moments, when they were close enough, Hadrian finished, "Who she is."

Blaise nodded in understanding, and gave Hadrian a discreet thumbs-up sign. Hadrian nodded, and, following the right steps for the dance, picked up Daphne and spun her around in the air.

Blaise tried to pull Pansy away, but Pansy refused. "What are you doing?" Pansy hissed, shaking off Blaise's hand on her arm.

"Hadrian told us, just now. He said 'Hermione, over by the wall. Make sure nobody finds out who she is'. We have to go over."

Pansy shook her head. "You go over. I have to stay here."

Blaise rubbed his face in exasperation. "And why, exactly, is the reason for that?"

She didn't answer.

"Does it, by any chance, have anything to do with the fact that Hadrian is currently dancing around with Daphne Greengrass?"

She still didn't say anything, but her pink cheeks said it for her. Blaise sighed. "Hadrian you player," he muttered to himself. Grabbing Pansy by the wrist, Blaise had to forcefully drag her away from the dance floor.

"What do you think you're doing, Blaise?" Pansy said, trying to yank her hand away.

"Hadrian was forced to dance with that girl by Mrs. Malfoy," Blaise said in a monotone, not paying any attention to the half wild Pansy he was dragging along behind him. "I saw her force the girl on him. Besides, if you ask him later, I'm sure that he'd dance with you as well."

That got Pansy calmed down enough so she would actually walk normally beside Blaise. Warily, Blaise let go of her wrist, wondering whether she would go back as soon as he let go. When she didn't, he relaxed. "Good. Now, we have to take care of that mudblood, at least just until Hadrian can come over."

* * *

Hermione had been standing by the wall for at least an hour. She had arrived late, having been stuck in traffic with her parents while entering Wiltshire. The house-elves had let her in, but upon entering the ballroom and not seeing even a single friendly face and being surrounded by all these important looking people, her confidence had wilted and she'd wondered if coming to the Malfoy Ball really was such a good idea in the first place. She had come thinking that it was just a small party, and that she'd be with Hadrian and Draco for most of the time, but she had been completely wrong. A Ball of this scale was something Hermione had only previously seen in movies.

Blaise and Pansy approached her. She remembered their names from the one time that she'd gone over and sat at the Slytherin table for breakfast, that morning before Hadrian and Draco's first Quidditch match. But after that, they hadn't spoken again, not even when they'd passed each other in the hallways. Hermione wondered why they were coming over to talk to her now, but shrugged off the reason. At least she wouldn't have to stand by the wall like a total loser anymore.

"Hello, Blaise, Pansy," she said politely to them as greeting.

Pansy gave her a stunning curtsy, and Blaise bowed like a real gentleman. Hermione gulped. At school, they had already seemed to be of the higher class, but Hermione had been able to ignore their flawless mannerisms and formal tones before. But now, out of school and at this expensive party, they looked to fit in perfectly, while she herself was dreadfully out of place.

Neither Blaise nor Pansy seemed to notice her discomfort. "Greetings, Hermione Granger," Blaise said, his soft voice smooth as velvet. "How are you enjoying the celebration so far?"

"Well, it's very nice," she said unconvincingly, hesitating in her choice of words.

Pansy giggled. "Wonderful dress you have," she complimented. Hermione looked down at her rather plain and childish pink dress, and compared it to Pansy's elegant green one. Her confidence dropped into the negatives.

"Thank you," she said, trying her best to maintain a calm outward demeanor. "Your dress is also very stunning."

Pansy spun around for her, showing off the sparkling emerald tiara in her hair. "Why, that's absolutely charming of you to say that. My parents bought it for me just for this Ball, you know. My mother especially, she said that I had to make a good impression on the Malfoy family while I'm staying over this winter, and to appear like a proper pureblood lady."

"You're staying over for the winter?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Pansy nodded. "Yep. Blaise and I were invited to stay at the Manor for the entire winter break. That includes attending this Ball, as well."

"I see." Hermione just couldn't keep up with what they were talking about. Everything Pansy said, from impressing the Malfoys to buying such an expensive dress, were so out of her league that she was feeling dizzy from the glamor.

Giggling, Pansy nodded. "I know, right?" she said, mistaking Hermione's reply for an invitation to speak more. "Hades and Draco invited us over. Only us. Oh sure, all the other pureblood families are here for the Ball and everything, but only Blaise and I were invited to stay for the _entire winter break. _It's such an honor! The Malfoys are the most influential and powerful families in the entire wizarding Britain. And this dress, it's just _gorgeous!"_

Blaise sighed. Once Pansy got started, she didn't stop. "Well," he said, interrupting Pansy's enthusiastic description of every inch of the dress she was wearing, "This conversation has degenerated into idle girly chatter. I'll just leave you two alone, then."

Pansy waved him away. "Whatever. Go, Blaise. Anyways," she continued, turning back to Hermione, "Hadrian said he's gonna be here soon, he's just preoccupied dancing with Daphne right now. Although he didn't actually _want _to, Mrs. Malfoy _made _him." Hermione raised her eyebrows at the bitterness in Pansy's otherwise light and tinkling voice. At that moment, the music ended on a final chord, and claps rang out for the musicians and the dancers alike.

"Oh, the dance just ended. Hadrian should be coming right this second," Pansy said with excitement, quickly adjusting her hair.

Pansy was right. Hadrian came rushing up as soon as Pansy finished speaking, slightly out of breath. "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said at once with a formal bow, to which Hermione responded with a bewildered curtsy. "I wanted to come earlier, but Mother introduced me to a girl, and naturally, it was only polite to offer her a dance, and then the dance took longer than I thought, so I sent Blaise and Pansy here to make sure you didn't do anything to insult the other guests."

Hermione frowned, slightly affronted. "I wouldn't do anything to insult the other guests," she said, but Hadrian shook his head.

"No, that's not what I mean. You don't understand. I'll explain it all to you later." Turning to Pansy, Hadrian gave her a brilliant smile. "Thank you so much, Pansy. You saved my life." Pansy positively glowed. "Speaking of which, where did Blaise go?"

Pansy shrugged, not caring in the slightest. "He went somewhere after Hermione and I started talking about ball gowns."

Hadrian winced. "Ah. That explains it," he said, in full agreement with Blaise's actions. A girl talking about gowns was something no self-respecting wizard would hang around to hear. "Anyways, Hermione, come with me. I'll explain things to you in another room. You shouldn't stay here any longer than necessary." Hadrian motioned for Hermione to follow him.

"Wait, Hadrian!" Pansy shouted after them. Hadrian turned. "What about me?" she asked.

Hadrian sent her a smile. "Thank you for everything you've done, Pansy," he said, his voice as sweet as he could make it. "Save a dance for me later, alright?"

"I will!" Pansy gushed, appeased.

Hadrian turned away. Girls were so easy to manipulate. Turning his head to see if anyone was watching, Hadrian caught Draco's eyes fixed on him. Draco was being forced to dance with Astoria Greengrass, and seemed to be regretting every moment of it, despite the smile on his face. Hadrian grinned at Draco, and winked. He was fixing the Hermione problem, so he had no time to spare to extricate Draco from the grasp of the younger Greengrass. Shrugging an apology, Hadrian gave Draco thumbs-up for luck. Draco visibly sighed, and looked away.

* * *

Taking Hermione to a spare, unused room, Hadrian closed the door behind him. They were still close enough to the ballroom to be able to hear the music and the chatter of the other guests, but far enough away that nobody would disturb them.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Hadrian started right away.

Hermione looked surprised. "For what?"

Hadrian sighed. "You were never meant to be invited. At first, I wanted to invite you, at least to get you away from those horrible _Muggles _that you have to live with when you're not in Hogwarts, but then Draco made me realize how bad that idea was. But at that time, I'd already put your name on the invitations list, and I forgot to take you off. You weren't supposed to attend this party. Your parents are both Muggles, and it would be a disaster if anybody found out. Everybody here is a pureblood, a leader in the Ministry of Magic, uncommonly wealthy and powerful, or all three. To put it bluntly, you don't belong here." Hadrian knew his words were harsh, but his inborn frankness wouldn't let him soften the blow just for the sake of his friend. Hermione had to understand the full significance of why she shouldn't be there, and the only way to do that was to tell her straight on.

"That is why I am apologizing to you," Hadrian finished. "I put you in this situation, where you were nothing but the victim of a cruel joke that I played. I know that I cannot take back my actions, and that is why I am asking you, Hermione Granger. Please, forgive me." Hadrian bowed to her, not lifting his head, and waited for her answer.

She was silent for a long time. "You know, Hadrian," she said finally, "I know that I don't belong here."

Hadrian stood up straight, looking at her with wide eyes. "You do?"

She nodded. "Of course. I don't understand all this influence and politics, nor do I understand how you pureblood wealthy families live. So of course, it's only logical to conclude that I am not living in the same world as you."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Hadrian smiled. "Good. I'm glad that you understand what I'm trying to say," he said happily. "So, you forgive me? You're not angry?"

Hermione smiled. And then she slapped him across the face.

The blow knocked him back a little, and he lifted a hand to his smarting cheek. "What was that for?" he asked incredulously, not quite believing that Hermione, the mudblood bookworm, had just really slapped him.

"I know that we don't live in the same world, but in my world, I don't like it when people play jokes on me. Even if they didn't mean to do it, I hate it when people apologize and just expect to be forgiven right away. If you don't want me to be here, then don't invite me in the first place! Why on earth did you put my name on that guest list anyways? I know you like to play pranks, Hadrian. But this is going too far." Hermione looked furious, tears in her eyes.

Hadrian sighed. He knew that he deserved this. He really had gone too far this time, and his prank had spiraled out of control. Hermione had a right to be angry. She had been forced to come all the way to Malfoy Manor for a party, but then had to stand alone for hours by a wall and then was told that her invitation had been just a mistake and she shouldn't have come in the first place. It would've enraged any person, and Hermione wasn't an exemption.

Hadrian closed his eyes and hung his head. "I'm sorry," he said again. "If it makes you feel any better, hit me all you like. It's my fault, and I deserve to be punished." Never would Hadrian have allowed someone else to hit him for real, but this time, he knew that it truly was his fault. He was the only one to blame. So in order to gain forgiveness, he was willing to throw away his stubborn pride and let a mudblood hit him.

Hermione raised her hand as if to slap him again. Hadrian clenched his hands to stop the instinctive motion of shaking his wand out of his sleeve and defending himself, and screwed his eyes shut tight. He would let her hit him, but he wasn't going to enjoy it.

The slap didn't come. Hadrian slowly opened his eyes and peeked out at Hermione, standing opposite him. She had lowered her hand.

"Hermione?" Hadrian asked uncertainly.

She sighed, but didn't move as if to hit him again. "If you let me do it so easily, I'll feel like I'm doing something horrible, you know?"

Hadrian frowned. So she wanted to hit him, but she didn't want him to just stand there and take it? Girls were so complicated sometimes. Even though they were easy to manipulate, sometimes they became so perplexing. "I'll offer some resistance if you really want me to," Hadrian offered.

Hermione looked at him. Hadrian stared back. "What?" he asked. "You said that you shouldn't be able to slap me so easily, right? So I'm offering to pretend to resist. What more could you want?"

Incredibly, Hermione burst out into giggles. "What did I do?" Hadrian asked, completely confused. "Do you want to hit me or not? I'm actually offering you a chance to hit me without me getting angry, you know. Such a chance doesn't come so often. In fact, this is the first time I've offered it to anyone before."

Shaking her head, Hermione covered her mouth to stifle the giggles. "No, it's because," she gasped out, "In that kind of a situation, wouldn't it be more normal to just take it as I don't want to hit you anymore?"

Hadrian's frown turned into a blank look. "Why? I already promised that I'd let you hit me. It's not like I'll just suddenly go back on my word. It'll be a blemish on my honor if I retract such a promise, especially one made to a girl who I've done wrong."

Hermione calmed down enough so she wasn't doubled over with giggles, but the occasional chuckle still interrupted her speech. "Where did you learn that? We're only eleven years old. You talk like my father."

"Of course. Acting like a child, especially when I'm already attending school, is beneath my position as a pureblood heir. As one closely affiliated to the Malfoy family, so close as to even be considered a son, I cannot just frivolously spend my time behaving spoiled and petty."

Sighing, Hermione smiled. "I guess that just shows the difference in the way we were brought up, huh?" she asked, her expression a little bit sad.

Hadrian didn't quite understand, but nodded anyways, just so Hermione would be satisfied. In the lull in their conversation, the tinkling music from the ballroom could be heard again. Hadrian looked at Hermione, standing there with her little pink dress, and he smiled. She had come for a party, and he wasn't going to just send her home without letting her enjoy at least some of the fun that the Malfoy Ball had to offer.

Holding out his hand, Hadrian bowed low. "Hermione Granger, may I have this dance?" he asked gravely.

When Hermione hesitated, Hadrian glanced up and winked at her to show her that it was all right. Hermione grimaced, but took his hand in hers. The starting notes of the next dance thrummed, a fast and cheerful jig. Hadrian pulled her to him, and the music began.

In the unused and darkened room, with just the moonlight streaming in through the full-length windows, Hadrian danced with Hermione, jumping and spinning. Hermione was soon laughing, if not because of the dance then because of Hadrian's improvised dance moves. Hadrian laughed as well. He was glad that Hermione wasn't mad at him anymore, and he seemed to be forgiven.

The dance ended with Hadrian spinning Hermione around nonstop, making her laugh uncontrollably as she whirled around. Finally, when the music stopped, Hermione staggered from all the spinning. Hadrian caught her before she could fall, and she smiled up at him. "That was fun," she said happily.

Hadrian smiled. "I'm glad you had fun."

"What time is it?" Hermione asked, slightly confused from all the spinning.

Hadrian took out his wand and cast a quick tempus charm. "It's eleven thirty."

Hermione pushed away from Hadrian and rushed to the door. "Shoot, I have to get back. I promised my parents that I'd leave at eleven." Hermione opened the door and looked into the hallway. "Uh, could you lead me to the front door, please?" she asked after realizing she had completely lost her bearings in the huge Manor.

Hadrian laughed. "Where are your parents now?" he asked.

"They parked the car in the closest town. They've been waiting for me all this time. I'll have to walk there, since my parents can't get through the barrier surrounding this place."

"Alright. Follow me."

Hadrian summoned Hermione's coat that she'd brought with her, and then he led her out the back doors and to the back of the garden, opening the broom shed and rummaging around. Emerging again with a shiny Cleansweep in hand, he grinned. "Come on, I'll take you to the town."

Hermione, realizing what Hadrian wanted to do, quickly shook her head. "No way. I can't ride a broom."

Rolling his eyes, Hadrian grabbed Hermione and forcefully sat her on the broomstick, sliding on in front of her. "That's why I said that I'd bring you to the town," he replied. "I can't have a girl walk the two miles or so to the town, especially at this time of night. Hang on tight."

Hadrian kicked off, the broom shuddering a little as it struggled to lift both their combined weights. Hermione screamed as they rose through the air.

"Calm down," Hadrian laughed. "Just hang on to me, and you won't fall off."

Hermione's arms wound around Hadrian in a death grip, squeezing the air out of his lungs. "Uh, not that tight, Hermione," Hadrian said weakly, trying to pry her fingers loose with one hand.

"Sorry," Hermione whispered, loosening her grip a fraction so Hadrian could squeeze some air back into his abused lungs. Leaning forwards, Hadrian smiled. The broom, having adjusted to their weight, sped forwards, darting across the night sky.

"Let's go!" Hadrian whooped, loving the feel of being able to fly.

* * *

It took them a mere five minutes to fly the two miles to the town. By the time they landed softly on the outskirts of the town, Hermione was shivering from the winter night air, even through the thick coat she had on. Hadrian, dressed only in his dress robes, didn't even bother to cast a warming charm on himself. He loved the feel of the biting cold, so sharp that it stung. Taking a deep breath of the fresh country air, Hadrian laughed. "That was fun," he said.

Hermione was still shivering. "I'm never getting on a broom again with you, Hadrian," she shuddered. "You're insane."

Grinning, Hadrian bowed. "Thanks. I take that as a compliment."

Hermione started walking down the dirt road, entering the town. "Have a happy holiday," Hadrian called after her.

She turned around. "Aren't you coming? I thought I would introduce you to my parents."

Hadrian snickered. "Me? Meeting two Muggles? I don't think so." When Hermione frowned at the mention that her parents didn't have any magic, Hadrian laughed. "No, I didn't mean that. I just don't think it's a good idea. They might freak out when they see me. Or they would think I'm eccentric. I would be walking through a Muggle town in the middle of the night with funny clothes and a household cleaning device, after all."

It was true. Hadrian's black dress robes looked like something from the eighteenth century, and the broomstick he carried, with all it's emblazoned lettering and gold filigree, was definitely not your average household cleaner.

Hermione sighed. "Alright. Happy holidays, Hadrian."

Hadrian gave her a bow one last time, then hopped onto his broom and disappeared in a rush of wind from his passing. Hermione sighed. It seemed that Hadrian really wasn't a part of her world, even though she too was a witch.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Hermione walked into the light and warmth of the town, back towards her parents.

* * *

Hadrian got back in even less time than it took him to get to the town. He'd been flying slower than he would've liked because Hermione had been screaming until he slowed down a bit, but on the way back, with nobody to hinder him, he went as fast as his broom would allow. Putting the broom back properly in the shed and sneaking in from the back door, Hadrian made sure nobody knew that he'd even been gone. Casually strolling back into the ballroom, Hadrian was pleased to see that everything was still going along smoothly.

"How did it go?" Draco asked, behind Hadrian's shoulder again.

Laughing, Hadrian turned around. "It went great. She was really mad for a time, but she's forgiven me now. Did anybody notice her?"

Draco shook his head. "I've been talking to various people under the guise of a good host. Apparently, a few people saw her, but none of them deemed her of enough importance to actually inquire about. I doubt any of them would even remember that she'd been here."

Hadrian nodded. "That's good." There was a pause, then, "Draco, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have written her name down on the list. I caused everybody so much trouble, I-"

"It's fine now," Draco interrupted. "It's all over anyways, right?" Draco's expression was bored, and he'd lifted his chin in the usual Malfoy gesture, but he wasn't able to fool Hadrian. Draco was glad, and that itself was enough.

"Thank you," Hadrian said.

"Anyways," Draco continued, his hands going to his hips. "You left me, even though you saw me. Do you know all the torture I had to endure dancing with that, that _thing?"_ Draco asked, shuddering from his traumatic experience. "That little monster. Can't dance to save her life, and even after the first dance, she kept on asking me over and over. I had to dance five dances with her! And when I finally managed to stop dancing, saying that I wanted to drink something, she followed me! The nerve of that girl. Didn't her mother ever teach her any manners?"

Hadrian laughed and slung an arm over Draco's shoulders. "Draco!" he teased, "You little bugger. Only eleven and already have a girl chasing after you? What's your secret, hmm?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, Daphne seemed pretty into you as well, you know, Hades," he countered. "I should be asking you for _your _secret. At lest Daphne doesn't seem as horrid as her sister."

"Daphne can't dance either," Hadrian whispered in Draco's ear. "I'm gonna have bruises on my feet tomorrow from all her stomping."

Draco grinned. "So am I," he whispered back. "Oh, the horrors of high heels." They both burst out laughing.

"Hadrian!" a voice called. Hadrian looked up and saw Pansy coming towards them.

"Hey, Pansy," Draco and Hadrian said at the same time, Hadrian's arm still over Draco's shoulders. "What's the matter?" Hadrian asked.

Pansy frowned. "You promised me a dance, remember? And I've been waiting _forever_ for you to get back from getting rid of that mudblood."

"Hey, her name's Hermione. And I wasn't getting rid of her, I was taking her back to her parents," Hadrian corrected.

"I don't care. But you promised me a dance, and I'm not letting you back out now! The Ball is almost over, anyways. It's almost midnight!"

The clock on the mantelpiece showed the time as quarter to twelve. Just enough time for one more dance.

Hadrian swept into his best bow. He did promise Pansy a dance, after all, and he owed her for helping with the Hermione situation from earlier. "My dear Pansy," he said, pitching his voice lower than usual. "May you honor me with this dance?"

Pansy squealed and took his hand. "Of course, Hadrian," she replied.

Hadrian looked around and met Draco's raised eyebrows. "And your secret is?" he asked again, looking pointedly at Pansy. Hadrian winked.

"Don't have one. I'm just that good."

Draco burst out laughing, and Hadrian led Pansy to the dance floor. As the last dance of the evening, it was a slow waltz, and most of the guests were participating. Hadrian drew Pansy into his arms as the dance required. "Thank you so much, for earlier," he said to her, gliding with her across the ballroom as the music rang out, slow and bittersweet.

Pansy blushed. "It's no problem, Hadrian," she said. She leaned back, Hadrian's arm holding her so she wouldn't fall. "I'm glad to be of help."

Hadrian smiled and they stepped together amongst the dancing adults. Pansy was a really good dancer, her mother having made her learn from an early age, just like Narcissa had done with Draco and Hadrian himself. They were matched perfectly, both moving at the same time, instinctively adjusting their tempo to match their partner. Hadrian smiled from the pure pleasure of the movement, completely synchronized to Pansy's steps.

Pansy and Hadrian passed Narcissa and Lucius, who were also dancing for the last song. As they passed, Narcissa raised her eyebrows at Hadrian.

"What happened to Daphne?" Narcissa asked as they passed each other.

"I owed Pansy a dance," Hadrian replied quickly. If Narcissa got the wrong idea about Pansy and him, then he wouldn't hear the end of it. Especially since Pansy came from a family just as respectable as the Greengrass line.

Nodding, Narcissa and Lucius passed. Hadrian grinned at Pansy. "Get ready," he told her.

"What're you going to do?" she asked.

His grin widening, Hadrian didn't answer. "Trust me. I won't do anything that horrible."

Pansy snorted, but relaxed. As the last chords of the song sounded, and the dancers around them all threw their partners up into the air and caught them again, Hadrian did the same, throwing Pansy up with all his might. But before she could start falling back down, Hadrian waved his hand, his wand tucked into his sleeve, the tip just poking out over his wrist. He cast a lightening charm on Pansy, making her weight a quarter of her actual weight.

Pansy kept on flying up. Seeing that she was getting farther and farther from the ground, Pansy screamed at first, but the scream soon faded into laughter when she realized what Hadrian was doing.

"Hadrian you git!" she screamed down at him. Hadrian laughed, keeping an eye on her so she wouldn't slam into the ceiling. Thankfully, the ballroom ceiling was uncommonly high, and Pansy only went about halfway up before she started coming down again. The dance had ended with that final throw, and so all the guests now had their attention focused on Pansy and Hadrian, the only pair who had not left the dance floor.

Hadrian caught Pansy in his arms when she was low enough. Since her weight was still lightened by the charm he'd cast earlier, Hadrian had no problem holding Pansy out in front of him. Dropping her feet gently to the ground, Hadrian ended the charm, letting Pansy stand on her own two feet again.

Pansy was giggling. "That was incredible!" she cried. "That was so much fun. I'd ask to do it again, but the dance is over."

Draco appeared by their side, smiling. "I can't believe you did that, Hades," he said, pretending to be angry. "Everybody saw you."

Hadrian just shrugged. "Hey, what's a party without a dangerous stunt or two?"

Blaise came up as well, holding a plate of biscuits. "Anybody want some?" he offered, munching on one.

Hadrian took one immediately, as did Pansy. After some encouraging on Hadrian's part, Draco reluctantly took one as well. "Thanks, Blaise," Hadrian beamed.

"Why, so these must be the two boys that Lucius talks so highly about," a voice said behind them. They all turned, coming face-to-stomach with a man whose face everybody in the wizarding world was familiar with.

"Mr. Fudge!" Hadrian said with surprise, quickly swallowing all the biscuit he had left in his mouth. "What an honor to meet you."

Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, smiled down at the four of them. "Not at all, dear boy. Lucius has told me many things about you two, and that trick that was pulled earlier with this little missy, that was you, was it not?" he asked Hadrian.

Hadrian gulped. Technically, he wasn't supposed to use magic outside of school. He still had the Trace on him, but he'd managed to avoid it so far by living in a magical household, where magic was commonly practiced. If the Minister was displeased by his actions, then he could've gotten Lucius in a lot of trouble. "Well, yes, sir," he began, but the Minister interrupted him with a booming laugh.

"My, that was quite a stunt. I have to admit; even I was shocked for a moment. You four are all first-years at Hogwarts, am I correct?" They nodded. "Well, then I must congratulate you. Only first-years, and yet already able to pull off a dangerous stunt like that with ease. I'm expecting great things of you children in the future," Fudge stated. "Especially Lucius' two sons. Come, come forwards. Let me have a look at you two."

Hadrian and Draco stepped up, standing side by side. They'd seen the Minister before, during the Balls of past Christmases or when he came over to the Manor to discuss important things with Lucius, but they'd never been allowed to actually speak with him. At the same time, Draco and Hadrian sank into a deep bow to the Minister.

"Why, so polite, these children!" the Minister exclaimed, looking to be in an excellent mood. Narcissa and Lucius had walked up to them, and they smiled at Fudge's praise. "Well, I've heard many things about you two, but why don't you introduce yourselves to me, hmm?"

Draco went first, after a nod from Lucius for him to speak. "Hello, Minister. My name is Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Hadrian, godson of Severus Snape and adopted son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy," Hadrian said next.

Fudge chuckled. "An orphan?" he asked Hadrian.

Hadrian winced, but managed to hide the expression before the Minister could see. "Hadrian is a part of our family, Minister," Draco asserted when he realized Hadrian wasn't answering. "Though his biological parents are no longer here, Hadrian is no orphan."

Hadrian gave Draco a tiny smile of thanks, a tilt of his lips so small none other would notice the difference. Draco answered with a slight tilt of his head, his own smile hovering over his lips.

Fudge clapped with delight. "Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful!" he enthused. "You two boys are everything that our Ministry needs. Polite, loyal, intelligent, and powerful. I expect to hear from you directly after you graduate from Hogwarts, you understand? Lucius has been telling me great things about you two, and I want to see it for myself."

Draco and Hadrian looked at each other. The Minister of Magic himself was offering them positions in the Ministry already, even though they were merely eleven years old. The idea itself was unbelievable, and the fact that it was actually happening was shocking. Narcissa and Lucius were beaming proudly down at them, and Pansy and Blaise were looking at them with awestruck eyes. Though it was mainly due to Lucius' influence that the Minister had offered, the situation was still completely abnormal.

"Uh," Hadrian said, stalling for time, "That's such a generous offer, sir."

"Nonsense, nonsense. For talented wizards such as yourselves, it's only to be expected," Fudge said, obviously waiting for their joyful acceptance.

"We'll be delighted to contact you after we graduate," Draco said, his voice not as assured as it should have been.

Seeing Fudge's face start to turn into a frown, Hadrian quickly added, "But we must leave other employment options open for ourselves as well, sir."

Draco nodded, understanding where Hadrian was going with this. "We're so young, it would be a good idea to leave all our possible futures open to us, so that we may decide when we're older and more mature."

"Otherwise, we may find ourselves unsuited to our job, thus negatively impacting our quality of work," Hadrian finished, hoping the Minister would buy their hastily created excuse.

Fudge's smile returned full force. "Brilliant. These children are brilliant. So close they can even finish each other's thoughts, eh? And smart enough to not agree to anything they might regret. I like you two kids even more now."

Hadrian breathed a sigh of relief. The Minister was appeased.

Now that the Ball was over, the guests slowly began to move out of the ballroom and back into the entrance hall, some leaving through the front gates so they could Apparate back when they crossed out of the Manor's wards, some lining up by the fireplaces so they could leave by the Floo connection.

Shouts of thanks and farewells echoed across the hall, as the wizards and witches bit each other goodbye. Slowly, all the visitors left, until all that remained were Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, Hadrian, Pansy, and Blaise.

Narcissa looked at the clock on the mantelpiece. "Twelve thirty in the morning, dears. You really should get to sleep now. It's very late."

"Should we help clean up, though, Mrs. Malfoy?" Blaise asked, smothering a yawn.

Narcissa just snapped her fingers. Immediately, five house elves appeared. "Clean up the ballroom and the remains of the party."

The house elves bowed. "Yes, Mistress Narcissa."

Narcissa turned back to the four children. "Now, up to bed. I expect you all to be up and at the breakfast table by nine tomorrow."

"Yes Mother," Hadrian and Draco said, heading to the right to go to their rooms. Blaise and Pansy headed left to the guest wing, where they were staying.

"Goodnight," Narcissa called.

Four echoes of "Goodnight" rang back at her, and she smiled in contentment.

"Well, it seems as if Hadrian and Draco are off to a fine start at Hogwarts, don't you think so?" she asked Lucius.

Lucius smiled as well, but his eyes remained wary. He was remembering what Severus had told him during the party, before the other man had left as suddenly as he'd appeared. "They're off to a fine start. Let's hope they can keep it that way."

* * *

**Author's Note:**Okay, I'm sorta leaving options open for Hadrian. Pansy, Hermione, or Daphne? Oh, the choices. Anyways, other than that, I'm sorry if I made Hadrian and Draco seem too 'grown-up', especially during the Malfoy Ball. I'll try hard not to do that anymore… Well, lately, I've been on a roll, so chapter updates will (most likely) be once a day now. We're almost finished! (Well, not really. It's about three-quarters done.) In any case, as always, please review!

P.S. Dear 'Guest' (I don't really know who you are, since your name shows up as 'Guest'… I really hope you're the same person, and not three different people…) Thanks for your comments! Although they're not very positive, I was happy to get them. I apologize if this story isn't going where you thought it would go, but I wrote it how I imagined. I know Hadrian and Draco might be too 'perfect' or too powerful and smart and mature for their age (they're only eleven! I was a total brat when I was eleven. No way was I as cool as them.) but well… the story wouldn't be as interesting if they just acted like little kids all the time :P And about the Draco crying thing, I know that was over the top, but I wanted to write it anyways. Even though it might not be a very realistic part, I still liked to see them fight and then make up :3 If you have any more comments, please send them to me! Thanks for the criticism!


	17. The Plan

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Christmas holidays were over, and it was back to Hogwarts for Draco, Hadrian, Pansy, and Blaise. The Hogwarts Express wound through the English countryside, bringing them ever closer to the castle where they would stay until summer.

"I'm hungry," Hadrian whined, sprawled across the seat in the train compartment. He was feeling irritable and grumpy, especially since they still hadn't gotten any information on Nicolas Flamel. Hadrian had been planning on researching for hours in the expansive Malfoy library during the break, but with the Ball and everything afterwards, he'd gotten almost no time at all. Pansy, though, who had volunteered to sit next to Hadrian, seemed to enjoy having Hadrian's head resting on her lap, even if he was being cranky.

Draco looked up from the textbook he was studying. They had been delving deeper into their research on the mysterious Nicholas Flamel after they'd heard what Severus had said during the Malfoy Ball, but so far, they hadn't been able to get anything on the man. He wasn't in _Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, _or _Notable Magical Names of Our Time; _he was missing, too, from _Important Modern Magical Discoveries, _and _A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry. _It was almost as if Nicolas Flamel didn't even exist. In the twentieth century, at least. It didn't help, either, since neither Hadrian nor Draco knew what Nicolas Flamel might've done to get himself in a book in the first place.

Draco was feeling frustrated as well, even if he wasn't as obvious about it as Hadrian. "If you're hungry, get something from the trolley," he suggested, turning back to his book. Blaise was sound asleep beside him, snoring softly with his cloak over his shoulders.

Hadrian huffed but sat up. Opening the compartment door with a rattle and looking out, he waved the trolley lady over. "What would you like today, dear?" the lady asked kindly.

Hadrian looked at all the treats on the trolley. "Could I have, ah, three pumpkin pasties, two packs of Bertie Bott's, a cauldron cake, and four chocolate frogs, please." The lady handed him the purchases with a smile.

"That would be twelve Sickles and four Knuts, dear."

Hadrian counted out the money for her, and then dumped all the sweets on the seat in between himself and Pansy.

"Want one?" he asked her, offering her a chocolate frog. She accepted with a smile. "Hey Drake."

Draco set down his book and held out his hands to catch the chocolate frog Hadrian had tossed to him. It landed in his palm with a thud. "Nice catch," Hadrian said with a grin.

Draco nodded and tore open the wrapper, careful not to let the frog jump out and escape. Hadrian picked up the last chocolate frog and aimed, his tongue sticking out between his teeth as he concentrated. Lightly, he threw the chocolate frog in an arc across the compartment, making it hit the sleeping Blaise square on the head before falling into his lap.

Blaise woke up with a jolt, fumbling around. "Wha-?" he said, still half asleep.

"Lunch," Hadrian answered, taking a bite out of his own frog, licking his fingers. "Eat it."

Blaise saw the chocolate frog in his lap and understood. "Oh, thanks, Hades."

"Mmm," was Hadrian's answer, his mouth full of chocolate.

Draco bit off a tiny piece of his frog, focusing on his book again. "You want the card, Hades?" he asked absentmindedly.

"We've collected all of them three times over," Hadrian said, bored. "Why would we need any more than what we've already got?"

Draco acknowledged Hadrian's point with a nod, then turned back to his book. Hadrian sighed and rummaged through the pile of sweets he had bought. Opening a pumpkin pasty and chewing on it as he stared out the window, Hadrian thought again of who Nicolas Flamel could possibly be.

He was sure he knew, that he'd read it before somewhere when exploring the Malfoy library. Nicolas Flamel was an important figure; only why he was so important was a memory that evaded Hadrian's grasp. Frowning, Hadrian chased after that elusive piece of knowledge, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't remember just why he knew Nicolas Flamel was important.

"Aw, I got stinking Dumbledore," Blaise complained loudly, looking at his card. "Hey, what did you get, Hades?"

Hadrian glanced at his chocolate frog card, which he'd discarded along with the box. "Harry Potter," he replied.

Blaise's eyes widened. "You mean that Harry Potter card that they'd made after he killed the Dark Lord?" he asked excitedly. "I heard that the card is super ultra rare. I can't believe you're so lucky, Hades."

"It's not super ultra rare. Drake and I already have three of these. Besides, the picture on the card is just some sleeping kid. He doesn't even move around. All he does is wake up for a while, look around for a bit with a stupid expression, and then fall asleep again immediately after that. The information on it only says the date of birth and the date of death, along with one sentence saying he killed Voldemort, since he was only what, a month old? It's really not all that special."

Blaise rolled his eyes, already used to Hadrian's blatant use of the Dark Lord's name. "Just like you, Hadrian, to say that it's not all that special. If that kid hadn't died and killed the Dark Lord along with him, we'd all be under his rule, and our families would be nothing but pawns in his game. That kid's the Savior."

"Well, if you're that obsessed about some dead baby, you can have my card," Hadrian offered, handing Blaise the shiny golden card. Blaise laughed with delight.

"Thanks. Here, you can have mine in return."

"I don't want-" Hadrian began, but Blaise had already shoved the card into his hands, so he had no choice but to take it. "Hello Headmaster," Hadrian greeted, staring at the smiling Dumbledore on the front of the card. Turning it around, Hadrian glanced over the back quickly before chucking the card away and returning to staring out the window.

Suddenly, Hadrian dropped his pumpkin pasty with a jolt, sitting upright and becoming absolutely still, his face draining of all color until he was absolutely ashen. Pansy jumped at Hadrian's sudden movement and the change in his behavior. "Hades?" she asked tentatively. "Is something wrong?"

Draco glanced up just in time to see Hadrian dive down onto the floor of the train compartment, pushing their candy wrappers and dropped cloaks aside frantically, his half eaten pumpkin pasty forgotten. "Hadrian!" Draco yelled when Hadrian lifted his feet up and dug around under the train seat. "What are you doing?"

Hadrian emerged from underneath the seat, a victorious grin on his face. "I got it!" he exclaimed, holding up the slightly crumpled chocolate frog card of Albus Dumbledore.

"If you wanted it that much, you shouldn't have thrown it onto the floor in the first place," Draco said with exasperation, wondering if Hadrian had finally gone off his rocker.

"That's not it, Drake. Look at this."

Hadrian held the card out in front of Draco, the information side facing him. Blaise leaned over curiously, and Pansy came to see as well. They all read the information side of the card together, wondering why Hadrian had become so excited.

_Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel._

Draco gasped. "That's it!" he exclaimed, slamming his book shut. "I know who he is! I remember I've read about him before!"

Hadrian nodded. "Me too. I've been thinking all this time that he's an important person, but when I saw this card, I finally remembered why I knew he was so important."

Blaise and Pansy were utterly confused. "Are you talking about Dumbledore?" Blaise asked, scratching his head. "Uh, of course we would know who Dumbledore is, and everybody knows he's important. He's our Headmaster, for Merlin's sake. How could you forget him?"

"Are you sure you two are alright?" Pansy asked with concern. "You've been acting strange every since the Ball, insisting on studying when there's really no need. And now you're really starting to scare me."

Hadrian brushed away their concern. "This is top secret," he told them with a wave of his hand. "You'd do best not to get involved. Really, this matter could involve the whole school. No, from what we found out today, it could impact the entire wizarding world."

Blaise took the Dumbledore card from Hadrian's fingers, scrutinizing it from every possible angle. "I still don't see what made you so excited about this card. It's the same as all the other Dumbledore cards out there. Hey, I thought you two didn't like Dumbledore?" he asked them uncertainly.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course we don't. He's nothing but all talk, anyways. But that's beside the point. We don't care about Dumbledore at all."

That just left Pansy and Blaise even more confused. Hadrian switched seats with Blaise, so he and Draco were sitting next to each other. Bringing their heads together and whispering, they made it so neither Pansy nor Blaise would hear a word of what they were saying.

"So the thing that's under that trapdoor, the thing that everybody's trying to protect," Draco whispered excitedly.

"Is the _Sorcerer's Stone!" _Hadrian exclaimed. "Nicolas Flamel is the _only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!"_

"So Flamel probably asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, right? Because they're friends and he knew someone was after it." Draco nodded as everything fell into place. "That makes sense."

"Well, it's a stone that would make gold and stop you from dying. _Anyone _would want it," Hadrian pointed out.

"And it's no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in any of the books that we searched in. We only searched in modern magical texts, thinking Nicolas Flamel to be an ordinary wizard. But he's what, over half a millennia old? Of course we wouldn't find him!" Draco reasoned, glad to find that his researching abilities hadn't degraded, and they had only been searching in the wrong books the whole time.

"So now that we know that it's the Sorcerer's Stone that the dog is guarding, that's even more reason for us to go down the trapdoor!" Hadrian decided. "The first weekend after we get to Hogwarts, we'll go."

"Deal," Draco agreed.

* * *

The first week back at Hogwarts seemed to take centuries. Hadrian and Draco were researching more about the stone every free waking moment, and their classes passed in slow motion, taking forever to end. Pansy and Blaise noticed that Hadrian and Draco had both been acting restless ever since they got back, but every time they questioned them they were only answered with cryptic remarks about how their 'top secret' mission would impact the whole of wizarding Britain.

Finally, at last, it was Friday. The last day of the week. Hadrian and Draco had already decided to try and go down the trapdoor during dinnertime, when most of the students and Professors would be down in the Great Hall. Their plan was perfect. They would go down through the trapdoor, get the stone, come back out, and hide it. Eventually, they would give the stone to Severus, of course, but only after they were sure that they'd been able to protect the stone from whoever had been trying to steal it. Severus had seemed to be really nervous when telling Lucius about the thief, and it made Hadrian all the more determined not to let the stone fall into the thief's grasp.

"Ready?" Draco asked one final time.

"Ready," Hadrian said. Nodding, they both crept out of their dormitories snuck through the halls of the dungeons, avoiding the rare ghost that drifted across their path. Climbing up the stairs, passing the entrance hall, and going up even more stairs to the third floor, Hadrian and Draco didn't meet anyone. Not even Peeves was around to disturb their plans.

Opening the door to the third floor corridor with a muttered "_Alohomora,"_ Hadrian and Draco crept inside the corridor, closing the door softly behind them, but not locking it in case they had to make a quick escape. Darting quickly towards the chamber where Fluffy was guarding the trapdoor, Hadrian and Draco stopped right outside the door. The sounds of Fluffy's growls were clearly audible from the other side of the door.

"Alright. Hit him with double stunners, and in the single moment when he's pushed back a bit, we'll dive for the trapdoor and go down before the dog can react," Hadrian said, getting his wand ready in his hand.

Draco nodded, shaking his wand out from his sleeve as well. "We'll have to be fast, or else the dog's gonna get us. And from what you told me about Severus' leg from before Christmas break, that dog sure can bite."

"On three, alright?" Hadrian said.

"One," Draco began.

Hadrian grinned. "Three." They yanked the door open and both aimed their wands, the three-headed dog snarling and slobbering right in front of them. "_Stupefy!"_

The two spells hit the center head right on the nose. Letting out a sharp whine, the dog retreated to the back of the chamber, growling threateningly.

"Now!" Hadrian shouted, charging into the chamber with Draco right behind him.

He was suddenly yanked back by a hand gripping the back of his robes, the collar cutting into his neck. Beside him, Hadrian could see Draco tumble backwards to land on the floor of the corridor with a thump. They'd been forcefully dragged back out of the chamber where the dog was, and with a slam, the door to the chamber closed in front of their faces.

Filch's face loomed out of the darkness of the unused hallway, smiling wickedly. "Well, well, well," he whispered, "We _are _in trouble."

They'd been caught.

* * *

Things couldn't have been worse. Filch, after locking up the third floor hallway, took them down to Severus' study down in the dungeons right away, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Hadrian's brain, each more feeble that the last. He couldn't see how they were gong to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. They'd been caught red-handed trying to sneak into the chamber that had been expressly forbidden by the Headmaster himself, and added to Severus' warning to not investigate any farther from the first semester, Hadrian knew Severus would be furious, and rightly so.

Severus swept into the study, his usual black cloak flapping behind him and his expression fierce. "Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Hadrian," Severus said, his face not betraying a hint of what he was thinking. "Mr. Filch says that you were up in the forbidden third floor corridor during dinner, when everyone was in the Great Hall, trying to sneak into the chamber containing a most dangerous creature. _Explain yourselves."_

It was the first time both Hadrian and Draco couldn't come up with a satisfactory answer. Instead, they both sat as still as a statue, looking down at their clenched hands. Their wands had been taken by Filch, and were lying uselessly on top of Severus' desk.

Filch rubbed his hands together in pleasure as he watched the two students he hated most being chewed out by their Head of House.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's going on," Severus said, taking a seat behind his desk and facing Hadrian and Draco with utmost impassivity. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. Mr. Hadrian, after seeing my wound during first semester, decided to look into it, despite my _multiple enforced warnings _for him not to. Mr. Hadrian told Mr. Malfoy the situation, and they both started to do some investigating. Finding out that there was a creature being kept in the school, they decided to play some stupid joke on the animal to increase their own infamy within the student populations, not realizing that what they were doing was completely and utterly idiotic."

Hadrian and Draco didn't say anything. Behind their chairs, Filch cackled with glee. Hadrian closed his eyes. At least Severus didn't suspect that they already knew what the dog was guarding, or the true reason why they were keeping it in the school.

"I must admit, I am disgusted," Severus continued when neither Draco nor Hadrian responded. Hadrian winced. As both his Professor and his godfather, Severus' approval meant everything to Hadrian. Having the opposite said in front of him so bluntly was like a sharp knife slicing into his pride. "I thought you two had more sense. I thought Slytherin meant more to you than this, especially you, Hadrian. Both of you will receive detentions, and fifty points will be taken from Slytherin."

Draco looked up. Fifty points taken away would mean that Slytherin would lose the lead in the House Cup, the lead that Hadrian and he had won in the last Quidditch match. "Fifty?" he gasped, his hands feeling numb.

Severus' expression turned cold. "Fifty _each." _He specified. "You have to learn not to do such things again. I know you two enjoy breaking the rules, but this time it will not be overlooked."

"Severus, please," Hadrian protested. Losing a hundred points would place Slytherin in last place. In one backfired plan, they'd ruined any chance for Slytherin to win the House Cup, and to continue their record of consecutive House Cup awards. They would never be able to make up for this.

"I don't want to hear any complaints," Severus interrupted. "This is rightful punishment for breaking the rules. Even though I am your godfather, Hadrian, it doesn't mean I will go easy on you. No, on the contrary, I will be even more strict with you."

Hadrian hung his head, Severus' words like a mountain on his shoulders. "I understand," he whispered in defeat.

That night, Hadrian lay awake, listening to the soft breathing of the other boys in the dormitory. "Draco," he whispered, "Are you asleep?"

"Yes," Draco answered.

Hadrian snorted. "If you're asleep, you wouldn't be able to answer me."

"Well, then I wish I was asleep. I don't want to think about what's gonna happen tomorrow."

Hadrian sighed and turned over, so he was facing Draco's adjacent bed. "Neither do I," he admitted. "I can't believe we lost a hundred points. And all in one night, as well." Both Hadrian and Draco were dreading the dawn, when the rest of Slytherin found out what they'd done.

"Weasley's going to have a field day tomorrow," Draco said, trying to lighten the mood.

Hadrian laughed. "Yeah, I suppose so." There was a moment of silence, then, "Hey, Draco?"

"What is it?"

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

Draco sighed, but there was a smile on his face. "Fine, Hades. Just don't kick me while you're sleeping."

Hadrian quickly got up and padded over to Draco's bed in his bare feet, the cold dungeon floor stinging his toes, dragging his pillow behind him. Draco moved over to make room.

"Well, whatever happens, at least we won't be alone, right?" Hadrian asked, snuggling into Draco's warm blankets.

"Of course not. Even if the whole school hates us, we'll still have each other."

* * *

At first, the Slytherins passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread; Hadrian and Draco, the two Princes of Slytherin, the heroes of Quidditch and the best students in school, had lost them all those points. Just because they were caught in one of their stupid pranks.

That morning, a letter arrived from Narcissa and Lucius. They'd been informed of what Hadrian and Draco had done by Severus through a firecall the previous evening, and they were utterly disappointed in the two.

_I cannot believe that you two would keep on insisting on breaking the school rules, even though Severus had expressly forbidden you to do so,_ Narcissa wrote. _I had thought you two were better than that. What on earth possessed you two to do such a thing? I've been receiving complaints from various professors and the parents of other students all morning, for the sudden decrease in your House points. You must understand, your actions are no longer just impacting yourselves; they've impacted everybody in Slytherin House. And I hear that you two were trying to sneak into a chamber with a three-headed dog! I know there's more to this than either Severus or Lucius is telling me, but I cannot allow my sons to idiotically put themselves in such danger anymore. I don't want to hear any more complaints about you two until the semester is finished, do you understand? _It seemed as if Narcissa had not been informed, either by Severus or her husband, about the Sorcerer's Stone currently being kept in Hogwarts. Hadrian and Draco deemed it wise not to inform her, to prevent her from being any more angry and worried than she already was.

Lucius' message, though shorter and more formal, was even more cutting. _Boys, your mother is furious with you two. What you were doing was dangerous and foolhardy, traits that no Malfoy should ever be affiliated with. I know I told you at the beginning of the year that you might do what you wished, so long as you weren't caught. I withdraw that statement now. You are banned from doing anything that would even slightly harm your already sullied records, and after this semester is finished you are to come straight home._

From being two of the most popular and admired people in school, Hadrian and Draco were suddenly the most hated. Slytherin, the house with the most pride and highest standing, was suddenly mocked by the other three Houses because they had gone from first to last in the course of a single night in the House Cup competition, and fellow Slytherins regarded this as the entire fault of their two so-called Princes. Everywhere Hadrian and Draco went, their housemates avoided them and didn't even trouble themselves to lower their voices as they insulted them. The other House members, and especially Gryffindor, on the other hand, clapped as they walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks, you Princes! We owe you one! Slytherin's House Cup record's finally been broken!"

Weasley was the worst. Though he didn't do anything outright, whenever Hadrian or Draco passed him in the hallways he would be wearing a condescending smirk, as if he had been the better one all along. Draco, who had always been a proud kid, was enraged. Hadrian knew Weasley had a right to act the way he did, but that didn't make him enjoy it any better. But as the case was, neither he nor Draco could do anything about it. If they started any more fights or pulled any more pranks, they ran the risk of being expelled.

Only Pansy and Blaise stood by them.

"They'll forget soon," Pansy said one night encouragingly, as they sat together in a corner of the Common Room. Most everyone else sat as far away from them as possible, so Draco, Hadrian, Blaise and Pansy were forced to confine themselves to a tiny dark alcove. "It's not like losing a couple of house points is the end of the world or anything."

"Losing a hundred points in one go is not the same as just losing a couple of house points, Pansy," Draco said tiredly.

"Well, you two are smart, and good at Quidditch. You'll earn the points back in no time," Blaise suggested.

Hadrian snorted. "The teachers won't give us any more points in class. Seemed like they've all heard about what we've done, and they all avoid us now. Not even Severus would give us any points," Hadrian clenched his hands at the mention of his godfather, "And Quidditch can't earn us one hundred points. Even if we win, we'll only get twenty-five."

But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Hadrian or Draco during practice, and Flint made no secret of what a big letdown losing the House Cup was to him. It had seemed that Flint's goal was to win both the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup for Slytherin, and now the 'two first-year brats' had ruined his plan.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Hadrian and Draco swore to each other not to meddle in things that weren't their business from now on. They'd had it with sneaking around and pulling pranks. They even stopped their Weasley War, and started a regime amongst themselves for minimum exposure. Wherever they went, they kept their heads down and their mouths shut, no matter how hard it became. They stopped drawing attention to themselves in class, and only did what each lesson required, without any more fooling around or display of their advanced abilities. During meals, they kept their heads down and ate in silence, except for the occasional mumble to pass the salt. They would not do anything more to disappoint their parents, Severus, or their House.

Hadrian and Draco were almost glad that the exams weren't far away. Though they didn't really need to study, they could always pretend to be too busy to notice the glares the other Slytherins sent their way. And with the threat of the upcoming examinations, more and more students focused on preparing for the tests, which gave them less time to torment Hadrian and Draco about their mistakes. The exams provided Hadrian and Draco a small respite from the usual intensity of their alienation.

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, notes were delivered to Hadrian and Draco at the breakfast table. They both said the same thing.

_Your detention will take place after dinner tonight. Meet me in my classroom._

_Professor S. Snape_

Hadrian had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost. He half expected Draco to complain that they were already suffering enough, but he didn't say a word. Like Hadrian, he felt they deserved what they'd got.

After dinner that night, Hadrian and Draco made their way down to their familiar potion classroom. Severus was waiting for them behind his desk, his face in its usual unreadable mask.

"You'll be cleaning cauldrons for me today," Severus proclaimed, gesturing to the thirty or so cauldrons that had been stacked on top of the desks. Hadrian looked at them with disgust. They were so coated with rust and grime that they were hardly recognizable as cauldrons anymore, and instead more resembled misshapen lumps of sticky solidified substances.

Draco and Hadrian both shook out their wands from their sleeves and got ready by the first cauldron. Though it was filthy and disgusting, several strong _scourgify_ spells should do the job. Before they could utter the spells, however, Severus spoke again.

"You'll be doing this by hand. Place your wands on my desk, and then resume. Buckets of water and rags are in the storage cupboard."

Draco's jaw dropped. Severus expected them to clean the cauldrons _by hand? _Both he and Hadrian had been raised as wealthy pureblood heirs, with house-elves attending to their ever need. They'd never cleaned anything in their lives, much less by hand, without the aid of their magic.

"You expect us to actually scrub these foul cauldrons by hand?" Draco demanded, so outraged that he momentarily forgot his vow of minimum exposure.

Severus answered unblinkingly, his voice as smooth as if he'd already expected such a question. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. I expect you to scrub these cauldrons by hand, and I will check each one to see whether I can see my own reflection in them when you're done. You will not leave this classroom until every single cauldron you see here is scrubbed and approved by me."

Draco looked as if he was about to argue farther, but Hadrian gripped him on the arm. Draco looked at him, but Hadrian only shook his head. Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Fine," he relented, slamming his wand onto Severus' desk with a bang. Hadrian placed his own wand neatly beside Draco's, and they moved to get the rags from the cupboard Severus had mentioned.

They had entered the classroom at six-thirty, having come right after dinner like they'd been instructed to. They were finally on their last cauldron shortly after eleven o'clock, sweating and panting from the task. Both Hadrian and Draco's hands were red and bleeding from the blisters of having to do such unaccustomed manual labor, but neither of them dared to voice a complaint. Instead, they carried on, making the cauldrons gleam as if they were new.

"Severus," Hadrian said when they finally finished the last cauldron, "We're done."

Severus looked up from the papers he'd been studiously marking while the boys had labored over the cauldrons. Coming over and inspecting the inside as well as the outside of the last cauldron, Severus nodded. "Very well, you may collect your wands and go up to bed. You are forbidden to wander the halls, and you will go straight to your dormitories from here."

Hadrian and Draco nodded, not meeting Severus' eyes. Taking their wands from the desk in silence, they trudged through the dark dungeon hallways and climbed through the portrait hall to the Slytherin Common Room. There were still several older students staying up cramming for exams, and they looked up when the portrait hole opened. Seeing that it was only the two most infamous first years in the school, nobody greeted them, or even acknowledged their entrance.

Tiptoeing down to their dormitory, Hadrian and Draco made sure not to wake any of the other boys in the room as they changed to their pajamas and got ready for bed. As the rough fabric of the blankets brushed against Hadrian's blistered hands, though, he was forced to take a sharp breath, the air hissing through his teeth. "Bloody hell," he muttered to himself.

"Your hands?" came Draco's whispered voice from the next bed.

"Yeah," Hadrian whispered back.

"Come here. I'll bandage them for you. Mother gave me some ointment in case of emergencies. I've got it in my trunk."

Sitting onto Draco's bed, Hadrian waited while Draco rummaged around his trunk, being as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the other sleeping boys. Draco soon returned with a jar of ointment and a roll of bandages, smearing the ointment on Hadrian's burning hands.

As soon as the ointment touched his skin, the pain faded away into a dull throb. Hadrian sighed as he relaxed while the pain retreated, and Draco bound his hands tight in the white bandage. "Better?" Draco asked once he was done.

"Yeah, thanks," Hadrian whispered. Taking the bandage and the ointment in his hands, Hadrian lifted Draco's wrists. "Here, I'll do you now."

Draco held his hands out patiently as Hadrian coated his blisters with the medicine, and wrapped them expertly with the bandage. "Thank you," Draco said, putting the bandages and ointment back into his trunk.

"I can't believe Severus actually made us clean those cauldrons," Hadrian sighed. "I never imagined cleaning could be so hard."

"We got what was coming for us," Draco said. "Besides, just think about how Muggles have to do that every single day."

Hadrian nodded, his lips lifting up into a smile. Draco always could cheer him up. "I'll never take my wand for granted ever again."

* * *

Exams came and went. Hadrian and Draco were both on their best behavior, hardly speaking to anybody during the day and only having a few short conversations with Pansy and Blaise in the Common Room at night. Somehow, they survived through the examinations without attracting any unnecessary attention to themselves, and the glares and snide remarks sent their way by the other students were thankfully kept to a minimum. They didn't even complain about the sweltering heat in the large classroom where they did their written papers, or remark about the new Anti-Cheating quills they'd been given for the exams.

They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across his desk. Professor McGonagall watched the turn a mouse into a snuffbox – points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Hadrian and Draco, under the excuse of doing well in the exams, couldn't resist showing off a bit to McGonagall, who had been openly suspicious of them from the very beginning of the school year. Draco's transfigured snuffbox was edged in gold filigree and studded with emeralds, while Hadrian's was made of the smoothest ebony with a single diamond carved to look like the sun set in the center of the lid. Naturally, they both got full points, no matter now reluctant McGonagall was to give them.

Severus' potions exam was easy, making a simple Forgetfulness potion, but Hadrian was even more nervous around his godfather than usual. So stressed about not making any mistakes, he almost messed up their entire potion so many times that even Draco started to feel the strain. Severus watched them with unwavering eyes throughout the time they brewed the potion, adding to Hadrian's discomfort and Draco's pressure.

Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole and wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Hadrian and Draco couldn't help cheering with the rest, despite their intention not to draw any attention to themselves.

"How was it?" Draco muttered to Hadrian as they snuck quietly out of the classroom while everyone was still packing their bags.

"Simple. You?" Hadrian answered.

"Piece of cake," Draco smirked. They headed down to the entrance hall and out the great doors of the castle, slipping unnoticed into the crowds of students flocking out onto the sunny grounds.

They headed right away to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. After being isolated by the rest of the students, Hadrian and Draco had sought respite in the little house of the former Gryffindor. Hagrid always welcomed them with a smile, no matter what rumors he'd heard about them from other students and Professors. In the half year in which Hadrian and Draco's popularity had been wiped out, Hagrid had become one of their greatest allies and friends. Besides, if they sat out on the grounds where plenty of other bored and lazy students were, now that exams were over they'd be sure to be picked on in no time.

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," Hagrid greeted them, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," Hadrian and Draco said together, setting their bags down on the grass while Hagrid went inside to get them the drinks.

Emerging from the hut, Hagrid put a tray with three cups brimming with lemonade down on the grass. Hadrian and Draco both took a cup for themselves, while Hagrid chugged the third one in one go.

"Nothin' like a good ol' cuppa lemonade on a hot summer's day, eh?" he said contentedly.

Hadrian nodded, but Draco was inspecting the wooden cup he'd been given. "Hagrid, why's this cup charred around the edges?" he asked, frowning. "Did you drop it in the fire?"

Hagrid looked down. "Eh? Oh, that. Well, ye see," Hagrid fidgeted on his chair, then quickly looked around to make sure nobody was near. The coast was clear. "Well, this is sommat of a secret, you know, so I don't want you to ter go around repeatin' any of this, okay? I'm only tellin' you two since you've been down lately." The two boys nodded eagerly, always ready to be let in on a secret.

"A few months ago I came across a stranger down in the village. Had a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with him. He bet a dragon's egg, and I won it off o' him. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, to be honest."

Hadrian frowned. "But Hagrid, owning a dragon's against the law. Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlock's Convention of 1709; you can't just win a dragon off some stranger."

Hagrid shrugged. "Well, at the time, I didn't think nothin' of it. I've always wanted a dragon, you see. Ever since I was a wee kid like you, it's been my dream to have my own dragon."

"So where's the dragon now?" Draco asked, trying to peer through the windows of Hagrid's hut to see whether there was a great winged lizard hiding out inside.

Hagrid shook his head sadly. "Dumbledore came an' gave me a surprise visit a few weeks back," he said. "No time ta' hide Norbert – that's what I named him, by the way – so Dumbledore saw. Great man, Dumbledore. Even after he found out about my little Norbert, he didn't get me sacked. He even called Ron Weasley's older brother over to take it off my hands and return Norbert to the wild. Charlie Weasley's studying dragons in Romania, you know."

"So the dragon's gone now?"

Hagrid nodded. "But I'll never forget him. Little Norbert even recognized me as his mummy." A few tears leaked out of the corners of the giant's eyes. Hadrian quickly took out his handkerchief and handed it to Hagrid, who blew his nose loudly on the white cloth.

Draco was still frowning. "There's something not quite right with this story," he said slowly. "Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pockets these days, especially under the risk of being caught by the Aurors for possession of outlawed items? Lucky they found Hagrid, who was so willing to take it off their hands, don't you think?"

Hadrian turned around, nodding. "It really is suspicious," he agreed. "Unless… Unless the whole situation was carefully planned out! They wanted something from Hagrid, so they gave the dragon's egg in return. But the only thing to do with Hagrid is…" Hadrian frowned as he tried to list all the reasons why anyone would want anything from Hagrid in his head. His eyes suddenly lit up with realization. "How to get past the dog in the third floor corridor," he whispered.

Draco dipped his head. "Exactly. Hagrid, you know that night you won the dragon? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," Hagrid said casually, still dabbing at his wet eyes. "He wouldn' take his cloak off."

Hadrian and Draco looked at each other with worried glances.

Seeing them share the look, Hagrid raised his eyebrows. "It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head – that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Hadrian stood up quickly. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah… he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after… so I told him… an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon… an' then… I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks… Let's see… yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted… but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home… So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…"

"And did this stranger seem interested in Fluffy?" Draco asked, his voice sharp as ice.

"Well, yeah, how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts?" Hagrid said, not noticing Draco and Hadrian's dawning horror. "So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep-"

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey, where're yeh goin'?"

Hadrian and Draco had grabbed their bags and started sprinting away as fast as they could. They didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the sunshine outside.

"We've got to go down the trapdoor," Hadrian decided. "Whoever wants to steal the Stone already knows how to get past Fluffy, and I'm willing to bet they already know how to get past all the other defenses that are down there as well."

Draco shook his head. "No. We can't do anything else that'll get us in more trouble. We have to tell someone. We have to report this, and let the Professors handle it."

Hadrian sighed in frustration. "But who would believe us?" he asked, but the answer came to him immediately afterwards. "Severus."

Draco nodded. They ran down the stairs to the dungeons and burst into the Potions classroom, making Severus look up from the exams he'd been marking. "What are you two doing inside?"

"There's an emergency," Draco began.

"It's about the Sorcerer's Stone," Hadrian finished.

Whatever Severus had been expecting, it wasn't that. The quill he was holding dropped from his fingers, splattering ink all over the exams and the desk, but he made no move to pick it up or clean the mess. He didn't move at all.

"Explain," was all he said.

"Severus, we think – we _know_ – that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. We heard you talking about it to Father during the Malfoy Ball."

Severus eyed them with cold eyes. "You were eavesdropping," he remarked as casually as if he was stating the weather. He stood up from his chair.

"We couldn't help it!" Draco protested. "And we know what's going on, and we're telling you, somebody's coming for that Stone!"

Severus advanced on the two boys slowly, as slow as a predator with its prey in sight. "You investigated into this matter, even when I told you not to," he said, his voice so soft it was deadly. "You somehow found out about the existence of the Stone within Hogwarts, something no student should be aware of. You even went so far as to try to go down that trapdoor yourselves, so you could get the Stone. Am I right?"

Neither Hadrian nor Draco could deny it. It was the truth, after all.

"Get out," Severus rasped.

"But Severus," Hadrian argued, "We have to do something about this! Tell the Headmaster! Dumbledore should know about this!"

Severus' eyes narrowed. "Professor Dumbledore," he spat, "Is not here at the moment. And even if he were, you two would do no such thing. You will get out of my classroom, go back outside, and stay there doing nothing dangerous or the like. You'll be sure that this matter will be conveyed to Narcissa and Lucius. Any more nighttime wanderings or troublesome investigation and I will personally make sure you two are expelled. That should teach you a lesson."

"But," Draco tried again.

"Get out!" Severus shouted, slamming his hand down on a nearby desk with a bang.

Hadrian and Draco jumped, scurrying out of the potions classroom. Severus slammed the door shut behind them.

"It's tonight," said Hadrian, as soon as they were sure Severus was out of earshot. "The thief's gonna come tonight. You heard Severus; Dumbledore's not here anymore. With Dumbledore out of the way, tonight's the best chance for the thief to get the Stone."

"You two, Hadrian and Mr. Malfoy," a voice said directly behind them. They wheeled around and came face-to-face with McGonagall, thin lips and all.

"Professor McGonagall," they said smoothly, "Good afternoon."

She eyed them with a mixture of suspicion and distaste. "Down in the dungeons, on a glorious day like today? I suggest you two go back outside and enjoy the sunshine before you do anything that would cost you anymore points. Slytherin really can't afford that, can it?"

Hadrian flushed, but Draco coolly replied, "Yes, that is what we were about to do, Professor. We just had some business to attend to with Professor Snape."

McGonagall nodded, and the two boys turned around, trudging back outside with McGonagall's beady stare boring holes in their backs the whole way.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," Hadrian whispered urgently as soon as they were out on the stone steps. "We'll stay outside the third-floor corridor, and if anyone approaches, we'll have to assume they're the thief and stun them."

"Is that really a good idea?" Draco asked skeptically.

"Do you have any better ones?" Hadrian countered. They went with Hadrian's plan.

But no sooner had they reached the door separating the third floor corridor from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper. "What are you two doing here again?" she stormed. "If you continue to hang around the forbidden corridor like this, people will think you're up to something. Now get out of here! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Slytherin!"

"Think she's the spy that Severus had been talking about?" Draco whispered, his wand ready.

Hadrian shook his head. "No. She's too Gryffindor for that. But even still, if we stun her and it turns out we've got the wrong person, she'll get us packing before we could even protest. It's better just to follow what she says for now."

Hadrian and Draco went back to the Common Room. "Now what?" Draco asked in defeat. "Should we just give up this whole thing? All the Professors seem to be convinced that their defenses will be enough as it is. Maybe we don't really need to meddle after all."

"No," Hadrian said. He was pale, and his green eyes were glittering. "I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."

"You're mad," Draco exclaimed. "Severus and McGonagall both warned us away from that. We'll be expelled!"

Hadrian rounded on Draco. "So what? Protecting this Stone is important to Severus, you saw how worried he was during the Ball! Besides, we know how dangerous that Stone is. It can bring people back from the edge of death! Just think about what could happen if it falls in the wrong hands!"

"You could be killed!" Draco shouted. "Do you think I want to watch you throw yourself in danger and die just because you were too stubborn to listen for once?"

Hadrian jumped on Draco, pinning him to the couch. "Somebody is trying to steal the most powerful alchemical substance known to wizard kind, Draco! This is the Sorcerer's Stone we're talking about! Do you think Severus and Dumbledore and all the Professors of Hogwarts would go to all this trouble to protect the Stone if the thief wasn't someone who would use the Stone for evil purposes? They're trying to prevent someone who is both powerful and evil from getting the Stone, Draco! If the thief gets it, who knows? Maybe he'll kill us all! If I die when I'm trying to get the Stone, at least I'll die knowing that I gave it my best effort, right? I'm not going to just pretend this isn't happening and hide away until the thief comes and destroys us!"

"Your imagination's running wild," Draco said. "Nothing of that sort is going to happen. You're just thinking too much into this."

Hadrian punched Draco in the face, though not very hard. "I'm right, and you know it, Draco. I know when you're lying. You've already thought the same thing, haven't you? You're just too afraid to admit that it might come true!"

Draco flushed with anger. "Well, that's better than just throwing yourself into an impossible situation and dying for nothing!" he said. "If you go alone, you'll never get back out alive! There are even more defenses other than that dog! How do you think you'll be able to get past all of them yourself?"

Hadrian took a deep breath, giving Draco a confident grin. "Then come with me."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I know I said that I would update every day from now on in the last chapter, but already I'm late! (Although it's only by like half a day.) But still, sorry people! Hope you like this chapter; we're getting back on track to the actual storyline now. As always, please review! :P

Oh, and thanks to BloodyRose90 who noticed a mistake on this chapter! (Gosh, you have really good eyes) I fixed it, so we're all good :3


	18. Down the Trapdoor

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

After dinner the two of them sat nervously apart in the Common Room. Pansy and Blaise had come over to try and talk with them, but they'd given up after a while when neither Hadrian nor Draco would say anything, and only replied in monosyllables. Nobody else bothered them; none of the Slytherins had anything to say to their fallen Princes anymore, after all. But this was the first night neither Hadrian nor Draco was bothered by it. In fact, both Hadrian and Draco were furiously memorizing the most complex spell they'd ever thought of attempting, just so they could sneak through the trapdoor that night. It was at least sixth year level, and had a nonverbal incantation. They were learning the disillusionment charm.

Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

As soon as the room was empty and they were sure everyone was in their dormitories, Hadrian and Draco got up from their seats. "You try it first or should I go?" Hadrian asked, shaking his wand out of his sleeve.

"You first," Draco said.

Hadrian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Tapping his wand on Draco's head twice, he recited the complicated nonverbal spell in his mind, trying to channel his magic through his wand and into Draco. Opening his eyes again, Hadrian surveyed his work.

"I can see your eyebrow, the hem of your robes, your left pinky, and a sliver of your tie," Hadrian reported.

Draco's voice came out of what appeared to be thin air. "Not bad for a first attempt," he said. "Do it again, and then it'll be gone, I think."

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Pansy appeared from behind an armchair, dressed in a silk nightgown with pink fluffy slippers.

"Nothing, Pansy," Hadrian said reassuringly, standing in front of Draco to hide the bits that were still visible, hoping that Pansy hadn't seen them practice the disillusionment charm. "Go back to sleep. I'll be up there in a second, just have to check something first."

Pansy stared at Hadrian's face, which he'd arranged into an authentic mask of honest composure. "You're up to something again," she stated.

"No, of course not," Hadrian shook his head, lifting his hands to show that he was innocent. He made sure his face was showing nothing but confused indignation at her claims.

"Oh yeah? Then how do you explain why you just turned Draco partially invisible right behind you then, huh?"

Hadrian scratched his head sheepishly. So she'd seen him do the spell. Crap. "Uh, extra practice?" he offered.

"I don't believe you. You can't go out. You'll be caught again, and Slytherin will be in even more trouble. Hades, you can't. If you do something again, Slytherin House will surely turn on you completely! Weren't you both miserable for the past months? Why are you doing something so risky again?"

"I'm sorry, Pansy, but we have to," Hadrian tried to reason with her.

"No, I won't allow you. You're not getting out of this Common Room if I have anything to say about it," Pansy declared, her hands on her hips.

"Pansy, please-" Hadrian tried again, but before he could say any more a jet of red light flashed towards Pansy. She didn't have any time to react before the spell hit her straight on, her arms snapping to her sides and her legs springing together. Her whole body rigid, she swayed where she stood and then fell forwards onto the couch.

Hadrian ran to turn her over, lying her properly onto the couch. "Draco!" he exclaimed, finding Draco's floating eyebrow and staring at it. "You didn't have to body-bind her!"

"It's the most efficient way," Draco said. "Besides, we have to hurry. The thief could be inside already."

Hadrian nodded reluctantly. "I'm really sorry, Pansy," he said down to her frozen face. "We promise that everything will make sense later. The spell will wear off after a while. For now, you should go to sleep."

"Come on, Hadrian. Finish the spell on me already," Draco urged.

Hadrian nodded. Emptying his mind, he tapped the wand where Draco's head should be twice more, chanting the spell in his head. Opening his eyes, he appeared to be alone in the Common Room, but for Pansy's immobile form on the couch.

"You're invisible," Hadrian told Draco, looking at the area in front of him in which Draco was supposed to be.

A hand clamped down on Hadrian's shoulder. Hadrian jumped and whirled around, bringing his wand tip up instinctively.

"Ow, Hades, watch where you poke that thing. Nearly took my eye out," Draco's disgruntled voice floated from somewhere to Hadrian's left. Hadrian sighed and brought his wand down.

"Don't do that, Draco. I thought it was Severus come to check if we're all in bed or something."

Draco snickered, this time the sound coming from by the armchair. "You should've seen the look on your face, Hades. Looked like you were seeing the gates of the underworld. Pretty fitting, considering your name is _Hades,_ don't you think?"

Hadrian rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Now do me."

Hadrian heard a rustle as Draco approached him. There were two light taps on his head, and a curious sensation started running through him. It was as if a raw egg had been broken on top of his head, the cold slippery feeling dripping down his whole body.

"Well?" Hadrian asked, lifting his hand up to his face and seeing nothing but the fireplace behind it.

"Let me do it again. That hair of yours is sticking up without any head underneath it. The effect really is quite disturbing."

Hadrian winced as the egg feeling washed through him again. "What about now?" he asked.

"You're done."

"Okay, let's go."

Hadrian took a step forwards, but immediately bumped into what seemed to be a solid chunk of air. A muffled "Oof," from Draco alerted him that he'd just crashed into the other boy.

"Sorry, I can't see you," Hadrian said, laughing.

"Neither can I," Draco pointed out. "Here, give me your hand."

Hadrian held up his hand. "Uh, where are you?" he asked Draco when nothing happened.

"I'm over by the armchair. Where are you?"

"I'm by the table. Draco, this isn't gonna work. Maybe we should've thought this through a bit more."

Draco sighed. "Here, how about this. My hand is on the back of the armchair. Come over, and find my hand."

Hadrian felt along the back of the chair, coming up with the familiar feel of Draco's hand. "I've got it," he said.

"Okay. Now, we'll go like this. No more talking, and make as little sound as possible."

Hadrian looked back at Pansy, still lying on the couch by the fire. "I'm sorry, Pansy," he whispered again. "We'll be back soon. It's best if you don't get involved in this whole thing." They crept out of the portrait hole and dashed through the darkened dungeon halls all the way up to the third floor corridor. They didn't meet anyone else, safely reaching the chamber where Fluffy was kept. Their triumph was short-lived, however. The door to the chamber was already ajar.

"The thief's already gone past Fluffy," Hadrian growled, quickly ending the disillusionment charm on himself with a _Finite Incantatem._ "We have to hurry."

Draco flickered slowly back into view as he cancelled his own disillusionment charm. Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon them both what was facing them. "From here on out, our lives will be at risk," Draco gulped.

Hadrian nodded. "Listen, Drake, if you don't wanna come, I won't blame you. I dragged you into this anyways."

Draco snorted. "Yes, you did. But you're mistaken if you think I'm gonna let you go by yourself. Who knows what sorts of trouble you'll get into without me."

Hadrian grinned. "Let's go." He pushed the door open.

As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them. The dog twitched in its sleep. A soft, repeating melody wove through the air.

"What's that at its feet?" Draco whispered.

"Looks like a harp," Hadrian answered. "The thief must've left it there. It's what's making the music, which means that the dog must wake up the moment you stop playing."

Hadrian and Draco cautiously approached the sleeping dog, edging around one of its heads to get to the trapdoor.

"Its paw's blocking it!" Draco said irritably, seeing the giant paw lying directly on top of the small square trapdoor.

"Smart dog," Hadrian joked.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Hades, I don't think you understand the danger of the moment. This isn't a time to be making jokes." Taking out his wand, Draco cast a levitation charm on the paw, moving it away from the trapdoor. Hadrian quickly opened the door, peering inside down the black chasm underneath.

"There's no way of climbing down," Hadrian said. "We'll have to drop."

"You go first," Draco said hastily, not wanting to jump into such a dangerous unknown.

Hadrian grinned. "Scared?" he asked.

"You'll have to be completely suicidal not to be," Draco shot back. "Hey, wait. Does it seem… quiet to you all of a sudden?"

"Quiet? What do you mean?"

Draco frowned. "Wait, what happened to the music?"

The harp had stopped playing. Hadrian and Draco looked up, and the giant dog was standing right above them, horrifying in all its three-headed glory. It growled, long and deep, murder in its eyes as it glared down at the two boys who dared to trespass in its territory.

"Merlin's balls," Draco screamed, scrambling away from the dog. "Hades, get outta there!" The dog, seeing one of its prey escaping, barked loudly and pounced, snapping at Draco's feet. "Hades! Do something!" Draco yelled, completely panicking.

"Uh, Draco stop scrambling back," Hadrian sang, yelling out the words in a rough semblance of the tune to 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and trying to distract the dog with all his might. "It's gonna keep on coming after you – Sing or something so that it sleeps – and then we can get away!"

Draco would have laughed out loud at Hadrian's horrible singing if he'd been in any other situation, but as it was, the dog's eyelids began to droop. Hadrian hardly drew breath; he continued to sing his words as if his life depended on it. Which, considering the situation, it did. "Draco get out from under there – or else when it falls you're gonna be crushed – Come over here and wait until – the dog falls completely asleep – And then we can go before – it gets the chance to wake up again."

Draco darted past the drowsy dog and dashed back to Hadrian's side just in time. Slowly the dog's growls ceased – it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground where Draco had just been, fast asleep.

"Thank you," Draco panted.

"Don't worry about it Draco," Hadrian responded, continuing to sing so the dog wouldn't wake up again. "But now you'll have to go down first – I have to keep singing so you jump now."

Draco looked down again at the pitch-black darkness below the trapdoor. "Alright, here goes," he said, taking a deep breath and hopping in.

Hadrian, seeing Draco jump, followed immediately after. He stopped singing. There was a loud bark from the dog behind him, but he'd already jumped down. He landed beside Draco with a funny, muffled sort of thump.

"Draco?" Hadrian asked.

"I'm okay," he replied. "We must be miles underneath the school. Lucky this plant thing's here, really."

"Yeah," Hadrian agreed. Just then, he felt a cold, wet tendril slither up his back. "Draco?" he asked again.

From Draco's tone, it was obvious he'd felt it too. "Hadrian, I think we've landed in Devil's Snare," he whispered.

Hadrian laughed nervously, straining against the plant, which had bound his legs and body down already so that his struggling only increased the pace with which the plant wound around them. "Great," he said. "The more you struggle, the faster it kills you."

"That's not the most comforting thing to hear right this moment," Draco said, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck, wriggling around as if his life depended on it. Which, in this case, it did.

Hadrian had completely stopped moving. "Draco, stop resisting. It'll just kill you quicker if you do that."

"You think I'm gonna lie down and let this stupid plant get the better of me?" Draco screamed, his voice shaking. "No way!" He started struggling even more, pulling chunks of the plant off his wrists. The vines crept up tighter, growing so fast Draco couldn't keep up.

Hadrian smiled. "Well, at least it's not a really painful way to die," he offered. "It'll strangle us quickly, and then eat us. No bodies, blood, or gore. Pretty good way to go, eh?" Panicking was useless, so Hadrian was keeping calm. If the plant killed them, then they died. If they manage to survive, then that would be another story.

Draco looked at Hadrian in despair. "I really don't wanna hear that from you right now! Look at you; you're already completely covered by the thing! Get out! Move!" Draco tried to grab some of the vines around Hadrian away, but a tendril of the plant shot out, wrapping around Draco's wrists and binding him so he couldn't move his arms. "Get off of me, you stupid plant!" Draco growled, kicking furiously.

Hadrian closed his eyes. There was a strange sensation underneath him, almost as if there was empty space. The vines dragged him down deeper and deeper, and the sensation grew. His eyes fluttering open, Hadrian yelled to Draco, who was only visible through a small gap in the vines. "Draco, stop struggling. There's a space underneath. It's gonna be okay!"

Draco, taking one look at Hadrian, almost passed out. "How's it gonna be okay? You're completely covered in the stuff! It's gonna choke the life out of you! Hadrian!"

At that moment, Hadrian fell through. He landed with a thump in the stone corridor below, perfectly alive but for a few scrapes and a sore arse. But to Draco, it looked like the plant had finally caught Hadrian and engulfed him in it's vines.

"Hadrian!" Draco screamed, thrashing around with renewed vigor. "You damn plant, how dare you kill Hadrian!"

"Draco," Hadrian shouted from below. "I'm alive, it's alright. Stop thrashing around, and you'll drop down into the corridor below."

Draco, too preoccupied with fighting the ferocious plant and screaming curses at it, didn't even hear Hadrian's voice coming from below.

"Crap," Hadrian muttered. "He's totally not staying calm." His brain whizzing as he tried to recall everything he knew about Devil's Snare, Hadrian closed his eyes and muttered, "Devil's Snare…. What did I read about Devil's Snare before? Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare. It likes the dark and damp, but fears the sunshine's flare! That's it!" Taking out his wand, Hadrian pointed it up at the plant above him. "_Incendio!" _

A jet of flame burst out from the end of his wand, lighting up the corridor and scorching a hole straight through the Devil's Snare. The burnt ends of the plant hissed and smoldered, retreating quickly from the heat and light of the fire.

Draco fell screaming down beside Hadrian, landing with a sharp crack of skull on stone, the smell of singed robes surrounding him. "You alright?" Hadrian asked, offering Draco a hand up.

"You're alive," Draco said with relief, getting to his feet and dusting off his robes, his sore head forgotten.

"Of course. I'm not gonna die that easily," Hadrian said with a wink. "This way."

They headed down the stone passageway, which was the only way forward. All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, until they could hear a soft rustling and clinking coming from up ahead.

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright things fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.

"Are those… birds?" Draco asked, squinting up at the glittering things.

Hadrian shook his head, looking up as well. "No, they're – they're _keys!_ Winged keys!"

Draco looked down at the wooden door across the chamber. "So that must mean…"

Hadrian ran into the chamber, grabbing a broomstick from the side of the wall. "We've got to catch it!" Mounting the broom, Hadrian soared up into the flock of keys, the little winged keys darting away whenever he got too close.

Draco had gone to examine the door. "We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one – probably silver, like the handle," he reported.

Hadrian nodded, surveying the keys fluttering around him. There were hundreds, and searching for a single key among them was almost impossible.

Not for nothing, though, was Hadrian the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't, and the ability to fly after it. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

"I've got you now," he muttered, accelerating to full speed on his broomstick and chasing after the key. It darted away as quick as it could, but it's tiny wings were no match for Hadrian on a broomstick. Snatching it out of the air, Hadrian whooped. "Drake!" I've got it!" he called down.

"Hadrian, behind you!"

Hadrian turned around just in time to see the rest of the hundreds of keys form into a line behind him, coming at him with all the sharp ends of the keys pointing towards him. "Crap."

Turning into a steep dive, Hadrian twisted and turned, trying to avoid the keys. "Draco!" he yelled, swooping down low and passing the key to Draco, who caught it before it could fly up again. Without slowing down, Hadrian inclined himself into a climb, shooting up and leading the keys away from Draco.

Opening the door with the key, Draco yelled to get Hadrian's attention. Speeding towards the open door, Hadrian managed to pass through and Draco slammed the door a second before the keys followed past. Judging by the thuds and clinks coming from the other side of the door, the keys had embedded themselves into the wood with their momentum.

Hadrian jumped off his broomstick, giving Draco a high five. Their cheers echoed around the chamber they found themselves in.

This chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped farther into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Draco shivered slightly – the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"So Fluffy was by Hagrid, the Devil's Snare by Professor Sprout," Hadrian recounted, listing the traps they'd crossed already on his fingers. "And the keys before were probably Professor Flitwick. Now, this chess set, I dare say, is by Professor McGonagall."

"We've got to play out way across the room," Draco realized, walking towards one of the black knights. As soon as his hand touched the stone, it sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Draco.

"I think you should do the playing, Drake," Hadrian said, eyeing the white pieces across the room. "You're better at chess than I am, anyways."

Draco nodded. "Alright. I'll be a castle. Hades, you be a bishop."

The pieces seemed to have been listening, because at his words the castle and the bishop on the Queen's side turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving two empty squares that Hadrian and Draco took.

"White always plays first," Draco said to himself. "Yes, there it is." A white pawn had moved forwards two squares.

Draco started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Hadrian watched in silence, confident in Draco's abilities. They'd played wizard's chess together many times as they were growing up. Hadrian had never beat Draco. Not even once.

"Hades, move diagonally four squares to the right."

The first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.

"I guess this is the exact same as wizard's chess, then," Hadrian remarked, eyeing the broken pieces of their knight. "Wonder what'll happen if either of us gets taken."

Draco snorted. "Don't worry, Hades. I won't sacrifice either of us." Draco moved forwards, taking the white bishop. The pile of limp black chessmen grew, as well as the pile of white pieces. Soon, they were going into the endgame.

"Alright. Knight to H3." The knight slid forwards on the board. The white queen turned her blank face towards him, crushing the black knight piece with a single strike.

"Alright. Now, Hadrian. Move three spaces to the diagonal left behind you." Hadrian did as he was told. Draco's grin turned victorious as he looked over to the white King. "Checkmate."

The white King took off his crown and threw it down in the middle of the chessboard. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. Hadrian and Draco whooped. "Awesome, Drake," Hadrian cheered.

"Naturally. I'd never lose a game of chess to a simple enchanted chessboard," he boasted. Hadrian laughed, and they charged through the door and up the next passageway.

"So, we've had Hagrid, Sprout, Flitwick, and McGonagall. Who do you reckon's next?" Hadrian asked.

Draco shrugged. "There's Severus, obviously," he pointed out. "Dumbledore, since he's the Headmaster. And perhaps Quirrell also did something. He's the Defense teacher after all."

They reached another door. Opening the door, a putrid smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they say, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

"So much for the Defense Against the Dark Arts protection," Hadrian gasped out, trying to breath as little as possible. They hurried over the troll's massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."

Draco pulled open the next door, both of them rushing in and closing the door as fast as they could behind them, containing the disgusting odor of the unconscious troll. "I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Draco admitted. "I think I would've been defeated by its smell alone."

Hadrian nodded. "You'd think that Quirrell would've gotten a stronger defense," he said with a frown. "He's really quite useless as a Defense teacher, isn't he?"

Draco shrugged. "Nothing we can do about it now. We're in Severus' chamber."

Hadrian turned around. In the center of the chamber, there was a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line. They stepped over the threshold of the doorway, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

"Look!" Hadrian seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Draco looked over his shoulder to read it. It was filled with Severus' neat writing, the lines perfectly straight with no ink blots or mistakes:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, _

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. _

_Choose unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

_To help in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Hadrian let out a great sigh, smiling. "That's just like Severus. All the traps so far had something to do with magic, but not this. This is logic, pure and simple. Even some of the greatest wizards would be trapped here forever, since for all their greatness they wouldn't have an ounce of logic in their heads."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Well, I don't know about that, but I'm sure surprised. I didn't know Severus was such a good poet. He just didn't seem the type, you know?"

Hadrian snorted. "He's not. He probably did a rhyming charm on these clues to make them more confusing like this. If there's one thing I know, it's that Severus wouldn't be caught dead penning out lines of poetic script."

Draco laughed, but soon turned serious. They were in the middle of a life-or-death situation right now, after all. Concentrating, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Alright. Seven bottles: three are poison, two are wine, one will get us forwards, and one will take us back. Simple logic puzzle. Four clues to tell us which bottle holds which. Give me a minute here."

Draco walked up to the line of bottles, rereading the piece of paper several times. Muttering to himself, he pointed at several of them in turn. At last, he clapped his hands. "I've got it," he announced.

Hadrian smiled as well, on the other side of the table. "Me too," he agreed, solving the puzzle the same moment Draco did.

They both picked up the smallest bottle. "You drink first?" Draco asked. Hadrian took a tiny sip; just enough so half the potion in the bottle still remained. Draco drained the rest. Hadrian winced. The potion spread inside him, as cold as ice, chilling his insides. Draco shuddered.

"Ready?" he asked.

Hadrian grinned. "On three."

Draco rolled his eyes. "One," he began.

"Three." They jumped through the curtain of fire together, the flames licking their skin, but the potion protecting them from the heat. For a moment, they could see nothing but dark fire, as black as night. Then they were on the other side, in the last chamber.

There was already someone there. But it wasn't whom they were expecting.

It was Quirrell.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, here's the next chapter! Since I was half a day late on the previous chapter, I'm gonna publish two chapters in one day! Like I said, I'm on a roll here. It's almost like the story's writing itself. And the story's almost done, as well. Next update's tomorrow (I hope)! As always, please review.

Thanks to The Dark Emi for seeing a mistake in this chapter! I fixed it, so it's fine now! (I think)


	19. Confrontation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

"_Quirrell?"_ Hadrian and Draco gasped; their voices twin sounds of astonishment and disbelief. Professor Quirrell, the man everyone laughed at for his stutter and his overgrown turban, was the phantom thief they'd been searching for? The spy Severus had mentioned planted among the Professors? The harbinger of doom and disaster they'd been trying to stop?

Quirrell turned around and smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all. "Ah, the two Princes of Slytherin have arrived. I must admit, I've been suspecting that you two found out about this ever since you tried to break into the chamber with that dog at the beginning of second semester. I must applaud your daring in trying it again."

Hadrian and Draco just stared. Then, at the same moment, they burst out into laughter. The idea of the cowardly, foolish Professor Quirrell being the criminal mastermind behind the attempted theft of the Sorcerer's Stone was ludicrous, and Quirrell's sudden change in speech was even more hilarious. To the two boys, they couldn't imagine Quirrell as anything other than the man who had had snowballs charmed to hit the back of his turban by the Weasley twins. Quirrell could never be a real threat.

Quirrell scowled. Snapping his fingers, ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around both of them.

"I'll see whether you're still laughing after I kill you two tonight," he hissed, his face livid with not a trace of his usual quivering treble in his voice. Instead, it was cold and sharp, and his eyes were completely black. "You two are too meddlesome to let live, my dear _Princes," _Quirrell spat. "Scurrying around school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"_You_ let the troll in?" Draco burst out, remembering the way Quirrell had collapsed in the Great Hall after reporting the appearance of the troll.

"Certainly," the man replied. "I have a special gift with trolls – you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off – and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bit Snape's leg off properly."

"You let the dog bite Severus?" Hadrian yelled, furious. "I'll make you pay for that, you-"

"Quite the protective one, aren't you, Hadrian?" Quirrell sneered, interrupting Hadrian mid-sentence. "I wonder how Snape's going to react when he sees his beloved little godson mangled and bloody after I'm all finished with you?"

Hadrian scowled. "I bet he'll be even more surprised after _I'm _finished with _you,_" he threatened.

Quirrell laughed, a cold and chilling sound. "Courage, in a situation as desperate as this. I must admit, you are either very brave or very foolish, Hadrian. It is almost admirable."

Turning away, Quirrell went back to what he'd been gazing at before. "Now, wait quietly, you two. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

It was only then that Hadrian and Draco realized that there was a large, floor length mirror standing in the center of the chamber, looking completely out of place in their dismal surroundings.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

"_I show not your face, but your heart's desire," _Hadrian whispered, reading the inscription backwards. "It's a mirror that shows your heart's desire."

"Very good, Hadrian," Quirrell praised. "As expected from one of the top students in Hogwarts. This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," he murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this. But he's in London, and I'll be far away by the time he gets back…"

"What are you going to do with the Stone?" Hadrian demanded, desperately trying to keep Quirrell talking and pump as much information out of him as possible. "Why do you need it so badly?"

Quirrell cackled. "I serve my Master, and his wish is my command," he answered simply, not even turning to face Hadrian.

"So your Master is telling you to get the Stone for him? Why? Who is your Master?"

"I met him when I traveled around the world," Quirrell said quietly, apparently taking his attention away from the mirror for a second. "A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it… Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me… decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me…"

Draco gasped. "You caused that robbery? You're the reason Father's been piled up with work and receiving so many complaints from the Ministry?"

Quirrell completely ignored Draco. "I don't understand… is the Stone _inside _the mirror? Should I break it?"

Hadrian's mind was racing, absorbing everything Quirrell had just told them. Voldemort was his Master, as unbelievable as it sounded; Hadrian had no choice but to accept Quirrell's words as truth, since the man had no reason to lie. Which meant that Voldemort was still alive, somehow, even after Harry Potter had reportedly killed him. So if Quirrell got the Stone for Voldemort, with the Stone's magical properties it would be able to revive Voldemort until he was back at full power. Hadrian had often heard Lucius and Narcissa discussing the horrible times before Harry Potter had vanquished the Dark Lord, and now Voldemort's uprising was in the imminent future as long as Quirrell got the Stone. Which meant that he had to be stopped. Their little game of search and rescue for the Stone had just been raised to a new level.

Quirrell was still talking to himself. "What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"

And to Hadrian's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

"Use the boy… use the boy…"

Quirrell rounded on Hadrian and Draco. "Yes, you two. Come here." Quirrell clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding the two of them fell off. They got slowly to their feet, looking at Quirrell.

"Come here, you two," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

Hadrian and Draco looked at each other. "One," Draco started.

Hadrian couldn't help the grin that spread over his face. As long as Draco was with him, everything would be okay. "Three," Hadrian shouted. As one, they cast double stunners down at Quirrell at the bottom of the stairs.

Quirrell roared in rage, lifting his arms and erecting a barrier around himself to block the spells. Hadrian and Draco dived to either side to avoid the blast of crackling black energy that Quirrell sent back at them. "Master," Quirrell was shouting, "Master, lend me your strength!"

Rolling at the end of his dive and scrambling to his feet, Hadrian ran around the edge of the chamber, taking cover behind the pillars and shooting stunners down at Quirrell every chance he got. On the other side of the chamber, Draco was doing the same. Quirrell's barrier, however, was just too strong. The crackling black shield absorbed their spells, not letting a single one reach Quirrell.

"Bloody barrier," Hadrian muttered, trying to come up with a different tactic. A scream from the other side of the room stopped him cold.

"Hah!" Quirrell shouted triumphantly, insanity shining through in his pitch-dark eyes. "I've got you now, you little brat." Waving his hand forwards, Quirrell smirked. Draco was forced out from behind the pillar where he'd been hiding, his arms and legs unable to move, his body floating down the stairs at Quirrell's command. Hadrian could feel himself slowly turning to ice. Quirrell had captured Draco.

"Now, my dear Draco Malfoy," Quirrell almost purred, running his hands down Draco's cheek. Draco shuddered, but his body couldn't move.

Hadrian jumped out from behind his pillar. "Get away from Draco, you disgusting pranny," he screamed, diving down the stares and charging at Quirrell, wand out and already pointed at Quirrell's head.

Quirrell hardly glanced in his direction. With just a raised hand, Hadrian was thrown back by a blast of energy, landing hard in the middle of the stairs ringing the chamber. Draco tried to call out for his brother, but his mouth wouldn't move.

"Worried, Draco?" Quirrell asked. "Not to worry. Hadrian is just fine. A few broken bones, most likely, but not dead. No, that wouldn't be fun at all. Now, would you like to go check up on him?"

Draco stared at Quirrell suspiciously; not believing the man would just let him go to Hadrian, who was laboriously getting back to his feet. Quirrell noticed, and his smile widened. "_Imperio." _Draco immediately fought against the voice in his head, but he couldn't resist it. He felt the voice slowly taking over his brain, his consciousness, and his body. He couldn't move, as the voice told him where to go.

Hadrian finally managed to get back to his feet. Seeing Draco approaching him, seemingly unharmed, Hadrian laughed with relief. "You got away from that bastard," he said, smiling widely. "Thank Merlin. I thought he'd had you for sure."

Draco didn't say anything. Instead, he lifted his wand and, pointing it at Hadrian, muttered, "_Crucio."_

Hadrian's eyes widened as he collapsed on the spot, his wand falling out of limp fingers. It was pain, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was a white-hot blazing inferno, burning away all rational thought until there was nothing else. Only pain. Endless, colorless, mind-numbing pain. Hadrian couldn't even scream, tears falling from sightless eyes. His world had been reduced to nothing but pain, and the overwhelming need to make it _stop._

Draco ended the spell after a while, leaving Hadrian gasping for breath, panting on the ground. "Draco," he rasped through his dry throat, choking back his sobs. "What-"

"Enduring the Cruciatus Curse without making a single sound. Impressive, especially considering your age. You will be quite a force to be reckoned with when you're older, should you have lived." Quirrell laughed softly from behind Draco. "Feeling betrayed, Hadrian?" Quirrell's voice came from the center of the chamber, beside the mirror. "The bond between you two wasn't as strong as you thought, now, was it?" Quirrell was practically singing with glee, watching Draco torture Hadrian. "How do you like little Draco's change of heart?"

Hadrian's eyes narrowed. "You bastard," he swore, "What did you do to Draco?"

But the pain came again at that moment. Hadrian shuddered against it, clenching his hands together so tightly that his nails cut into his palms. Biting his tongue, the coppery taste of blood filled Hadrian's mouth, coloring his vision red. All Hadrian could see was the emotionless face of Draco, Quirrell's smile right over his shoulder. He wouldn't scream, Hadrian swore. No matter how hard it got, no way was he going to give Quirrell the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

Once the pain was gone again, Hadrian was left even weaker than before, heaving out sour bile onto the stone floor. Crawling away from Draco, Hadrian grabbed his wand from where it'd rolled after he'd dropped it, and pointed it directly at Quirrell. "That's enough," he shouted, spitting out blood.

Quirrell only smiled. "As you wish."

With a wave of his hand, Quirrell ended the Imperius on Draco. Draco slumped to the ground, shaking. Hadrian scrambled over to him, wincing as his broken ribs blazed with pain from being thrown back onto the stairs before. "Draco," he whispered, shaking him. "Draco, are you alright?"

Draco was crying. "I'm sorry, Hadrian," he said shakily, "I cast – I cast the Cruciatus Curse – on – on you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Hadrian grabbed Draco's trembling hands, trying to smile past the pain in his entire body. His head had started throbbing, his forehead burning as if it were on fire, but he ignored it. "Don't worry, Drake. It'll be all right. Everything's gonna be fine."

Draco laughed weakly. "Hey Hades?" he said softly, looking completely vulnerable.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to die."

"Okay, that's enough for the tearful reunion," Quirrell announced with a clap of his hands. "Now it's the other Prince's turn to feel the pain of going against my Master." Pointing his wand at Draco, Quirrell shouted, "_Crucio!"_

Draco's body convulsed in Hadrian's arms. His screams rang throughout the chamber, ringing against the stone and echoing in Hadrian's ears. It was the most fearsome, horrible sound Hadrian had ever heard, more horrible than being under the curse himself. The pain inflicted on himself, he'd been able to endure, but Draco's pain was something Hadrian wasn't ever going to allow. This, this was true torture. For the first time, Hadrian felt the cold, indescribable feeling of utter powerlessness. For the first time, Hadrian felt fear.

"Stop it!" Hadrian screamed along with Draco. "Stop it, Quirrell! Stop it!"

Quirrell laughed maniacally, continuing the spell. Hadrian clenched his eyes shut, trying to think past the sounds of Draco's screams. Draco's words, _I don't want to die,_ swirled through his mind. At that moment, Hadrian made a decision.

"Stop it Quirrell!" he yelled. "I'll do what you want, so STOP IT!"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Quirrell lowered his wand. Draco's screams faded until they were just small sobs, leaving him trembling on the ground, broken. Hadrian slowly stood up.

"I'm glad you've come to your senses, Hadrian," Quirrell smiled, his voice as smooth as oil on water. "Now, look in the mirror and tell me what you see. Don't make me repeat myself a fourth time, or else your dear Draco Malfoy there will bear the consequences."

Hadrian walked toward him. _I must lie,_ he thought with resolve. _I must look and lie about what I see. And then I'll make a break for it with Draco. I can take the broom from Flitwick's chamber and get back up to the school. We'll make it. No way am I going to let Draco die here. No matter what, we have to get out alive._

Quirrell moved close behind him, Draco left lying on the floor. Hadrian calculated how long it would take for him to grab Draco and run back through the black fire that blocked the chamber's exit. Hadrian only hoped that the potion they'd drank would still work, and the fire wouldn't burn them alive.

Hadrian closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.

He saw his own reflection, cut and bruised and scared. Draco was standing right beside him, holding his hand and smiling. Draco looked completely all right, no traces of pain lingering in his eyes.

Hadrian looked quickly to the side, hoping desperately that Draco was truly there. But beside him was only air, empty. Looking back into the mirror, Hadrian saw Lucius and Narcissa standing behind Draco, also smiling widely and looking proud of them both. Severus had his hand on Hadrian's shoulder, his expression soft. But behind them, behind them was a crowd of people, all unfamiliar. In the forefront, right behind Hadrian himself, were two people that stood out the most.

The woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes – _her eyes are just like mine,_ Hadrian thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green, exactly the same shape. A tall, thin, black-haired man stood next to her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up all over the place, looking as if it would never lie flat. Just as Hadrian's did.

"Mom?" he whispered, his hand reaching out and touching the surface of the mirror, trying to memorize their faces. "Dad?"

They just looked at him, smiling. Hadrian felt tears blur his vision, making tracks down his face. For the first time in his life, Hadrian was seeing his parents, his family. He was seeing his heart's desire.

Then, his reflection in the mirror suddenly smiled brightly, giving Hadrian his own cheeky grin. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket – and as it did so, Hadrian felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow – incredibly – _he'd gotten the Stone._

"Well?" Quirrell said impatiently, "What do you see?"

Hadrian smiled up at Severus, Lucius, Narcissa, and all his family gathered around him. Just looking at their faces, looking at their smiles, gave him enough courage to turn and face Quirrell.

"I see my true mother and father," Hadrian said, joy and sadness mixed in his voice. "I see my family, all the people I've never known, around me and smiling."

Quirrell cursed, pushing him away from the mirror. "Get out of the way," he growled, completely losing interest in Hadrian and turning back to the mirror. As Hadrian moved aside, he felt the Sorcerer's Stone against his leg. He inched back, trying to get as close to Draco as he could before Quirrell noticed what he was doing. He was going to make a break for it.

But he hadn't moved five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.

"He lies… He lies…"

"Hadrian, come back here!" Quirrell screamed, rounding on Hadrian once more. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

The high voice spoke again. "Let me speak to him… face-to-face…"

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough… for this…"

Hadrian felt rooted to the spot. He finally knew who the high, cold voice belonged to; Voldemort himself. Voldemort was somewhere within the chamber, seeing all they were doing, watching their every move. A chill went up Hadrian's spine as he watched Quirrell reach up and begin to unwrap his turban. What was going on? Where was Voldemort hiding? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot.

Hadrian would have laughed at the idiotic sight of the face on the back of Quirrell's head, if it weren't for the sudden blazing pain in his forehead. His hands came up and clawed at his forehead, but there was nothing but smooth skin. Hadrian narrowed his eyes against the pain, and turned his gaze back to Quirrell's other face.

It was the most pitiful face Hadrian had ever seen. Chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, it looked already dead and only growing like a tumor, feeding on Quirrell's body to survive.

"What is your name…" it whispered, the thin lips crackling as they moved to shape the words.

"Hadrian," he replied defiantly, gripping his wand tight. "No need to tell me yours, Voldemort. I already know who you are."

"You dare to call me… by my name?" it asked in wonder. "You are brave… Hadrian."

On the ground behind him, Draco made a choking sound. Hadrian quickly turned to see what was wrong, but Draco was staring as if paralyzed at the face's glowing red eyes. It seemed he'd gotten up from his position, but before he could fully stand he'd fallen back to his knees.

"Draco?" Hadrian asked, running over to Draco and grabbing his hand. "What's the matter?"

"Hades," Draco whispered, completely terrified. He couldn't move, even though there wasn't any spell holding him in place. Clutching a Hadrian's hands as if it were his only lifeline, Draco couldn't tear his eyes away from the face on the back of Quirrell's head. "I'm scared," he admitted. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die, Hadrian."

Hadrian tightened his grip on Draco's hands. Draco, a proud Malfoy pureblood heir, was openly admitting he was scared. Hadrian looked back at the face, which was watching them with something akin to amusement. Hadrian shushed Draco, putting his hands over Draco's eyes so he wouldn't keep staring at the face. All Hadrian saw was a pitiful being, so obsessed with living he'd become a parasite. He couldn't understand why Draco was so frightened of the face. The face might look horrible, but the soul behind the face held no power, and had to live off others to survive. It was almost… saddening.

Hadrian smiled at Draco, though the other couldn't see it. "Forgive me for this," he whispered. Pointing his wand at Draco's temple, he whispered, "_Stupefy." _Draco tensed, but had no choice and slid into unconsciousness. Hadrian stood up and faced Voldemort again, making sure Draco was comfortable on the stone floor and standing in front of Draco's body, protecting him with his own.

"You would do that to your own best friend… your own brother?" the cold voice hissed, resounding with approval.

Hadrian sneered at the face. "Draco shouldn't have to see this. I was the one who dragged him along, and so it's my responsibility. Draco's got nothing to do with it. I'll get both him and myself out of here. Draco doesn't have to know what happens. He doesn't have to experience such fear."

The voice laughed, cold and chilling, even more insane than Quirrell's cackle. "Are you sure… that's the reason?" it asked. "You are… disposing of obstacles in your way… are you not? That boy's fear would have… prevented you from facing me… so you have removed him from your path. That is one of the qualities… I admire. To do what you have to… without any hesitation. Hadrian… join me, and the possibilities would be endless. You will be given… a position as my right hand… All you have to do… is to give me that Stone in your pocket."

So Voldemort knew. _Well,_ Hadrian thought to himself, _I guess the game's over. It's not like I could've hidden the Stone in my pocket forever._ Hadrian grabbed Draco's limp body behind him and heaved, dragging Draco along as he darted up the stairs, to the gateway still blocked with black fire.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. Quirrell suddenly waved his arm, and the entire chamber was ringed by a crackling blaze. Hadrian stumbled back, Draco still limp in his arms, from the sudden burst of flames. The door out of the chamber was completely blocked by the wall of fire. They were trapped.

Quirrell was walking backwards at them, so that Voldemort could still see them. The evil face was now smiling.

"I will give you one last chance…" Voldemort whispered. "Come to me… I will give you all that you desire… You want your parents back? I will raise them from the dead… so now… GIVE ME THE STONE!"

"NEVER!" Hadrian roared, choking on his sobs. "The dead aren't meant to be brought back…" he whispered to himself, chanting it over and over into a mantra. "The dead aren't meant to be brought back into the world of the living." Hadrian focused on the feel of Draco in his arms, unconscious but very much alive. He had to protect Draco. He had to resist the temptation Voldemort was giving him, if not for himself than for Draco's sake. "The living should have nothing to do with the dead," Hadrian whispered. "The dead are no longer a part of our world."

Voldemort lost his patience. "SEIZE HIM!" Quirrell whirled around and charged at Hadrian. Reacting purely on instinct, Hadrian dropped Draco to the floor and dived out of the way, leading Quirrell away from Draco. Running as fast as he could, Hadrian nevertheless felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Hadrian's forehead; it felt as though it was about to split in two. Thrashing and struggling with all his might, trying to get his wand pointed at Quirrell, Hadrian noticed with surprise that Quirrell had let go of him. The pain in his head lessened. He looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers – they were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize him, SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Hadrian clean off his feet, Hadrian dropping his wand with a clatter as he was knocked to the floor. Hadrian watched with horror as his wand rolled away, coming to a halt at the base of the mirror.

Quirrell latched both hands around Hadrian's neck. His grip wasn't very impressive, but Hadrian's head was almost blinding him with pain. It was as though knives were being stuck into his forehead, carving out his skin. Yet through the haze, Hadrian could see Quirrell howling in agony.

"Master, I cannot hold him – my hands – my hands!"

And Quirrell, though pinning Hadrian to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms – Hadrian could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.

"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort. "I don't care what you do, just get me that Stone!"

Hadrian looked at his own hands; the pain in his head lessened because there was no longer any contact with Quirrell. Thinking as fast he could, Hadrian realized that Quirrell, somehow, must not be able to touch his skin. Seeing his wand lying uselessly by the side of the mirror, Hadrian knew that burning Quirrell with his skin was the last chance he had to still win.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Hadrian smirked. He wasn't completely defenseless yet. He surged up off the floor and grabbed Quirrell's face, clawing the man's skin.

"AAAARGH!"

Quirrell rolled off of him, his face blistering too. Hadrian looked at his hands with surprise at his newfound power. Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain. He knew what he had to do.

Hadrian jumped on Quirrell, pinning him to the floor. He yanked Quirrell's wand out of his grip and grabbed his neck. Hadrian's vision blanked white from the pain in his forehead, but Hadrian didn't care. He didn't need to see to feel Quirrell jerking around under his grip, and that was all he needed. As long as he had Quirrell beside him, Draco would be safe.

Quirrell was punching him, trying to get him off. Hadrian felt the punches, but the pain didn't register. Sound became mixed. He could no longer hear the blaze of the fire trapping them in the room, only Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" Hadrian could feel himself slipping; the white was turning dark. He clenched his teeth and fought against the darkness. He had to keep Quirrell occupied. He couldn't pass out now.

Hadrian felt Quirrell's neck beneath his fingers cracking, slowly disintegrating into sand. Hadrian fought to stay conscious, but as the neck beneath his hands turned to dust slipping through his fingers, Hadrian crumpled to the ground. He could no longer feel Quirrell below him, nor could he hear his screams. Voldemort seemed to have gone as well. His vision, now completely dark, comforted him with the welcoming oblivion of unconsciousness. He was falling, down… down… into the darkness. "Draco," Hadrian whispered, before the darkness claimed him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, since I'm updating once a day instead of once a week now, you'll have to excuse the shorter chapters. I'm writing as fast as I possibly can, honest! Still, now the story's _really_ almost done (I've been saying that for the past two chapters, but this time, I actually mean it :P). Oh wait, but tomorrow, I won't be able to update. Sorry! I'll do it as soon as I possibly can, but it might take a few days… Anyways, as always, please review!


	20. The Hospital Wing

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Draco woke up, his entire body jerking awake as he remembered what was happening. "Hadrian!" Draco yelled, looking around wildly for Hadrian and Quirrell. The face on the back of Quirrell's head… it flashed through Draco's memory, and he groaned, clutching his head. He could still remember that cold feeling, pinning him in place, when he stared into those endless glowing red eyes. Squeezing his eyes shut, Draco clawed at his temples, as if inflicting self-injury would erase every trace of that horrid nightmare.

A warm body fell into his arms. Draco flinched, scrambling back, but the body clung on, arms wrapped around his neck. Draco slowly became aware of his surroundings. He was on a bed, with white sheets and clothed in a white robe. He was no longer down in the chamber with Quirrell; instead, he was in what seemed to be… the Hospital Wing.

The body in his arms turned out to be Pansy, clutching him and sobbing as if the world had been about to end. "Draco," Pansy gasped. "Draco, I'm so glad you're alright!" Draco eased Pansy off of him, disentangling himself from her arms with many assurances that he was perfectly fine, but for a few bruises and sore muscles.

"Where's Hadrian?" he asked her. She looked down suddenly, falling silent. A cold feeling welled up in the pit of his stomach.

Blaise was also sitting by his bedside, looking at him with concern. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked, changing the subject. "What happened? The whole school's been stirring up crazy rumors, and then you two showed up half dead in the Hospital Wing. What in the world were you two up to?"

Draco completely ignored Blaise's questions, though he winced at the phrase 'half dead'. "Where's Hadrian?" he asked again.

Before he could force an answer out of Blaise, Madam Pomfrey appeared suddenly from around one of the dividers separating the hospital beds, interrupting their conversation. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy. You're up. How are you feeling today?"

Draco rubbed his eyes blearily. "Exhausted, sore, and irritable," he snapped. "Now will somebody tell me where the bloody hell Hadrian is supposed to be?"

All three of them fell silent, not meeting his eyes. "WHERE IS MY BROTHER?" Draco roared, jumping out of bed. His vision flashed dark and he staggered forwards almost immediately. He would've fallen on his face if Pansy hadn't caught him in time, leading him back to his bed.

"Mr. Hadrian is in the next bed over," Madam Pomfrey told Draco sharply. "He is resting right now, so I would appreciate it if you would lower your voice! This is the Hospital Wing, not the Great Hall. Please save your tantrums for later, at least until Mr. Hadrian has fully recovered."

Draco slumped into his pillows, duly chastised. "I want to see him," he demanded.

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips, but nodded once. "Very well. Mr. Hadrian is in a delicate situation right now, though, so I would urge you to be quiet. His injuries were very grave, after all. You got off lightly with only a couple of bruises, although you were put under the torture curse once."

She removed the divider separating Draco's bed from Hadrian's. Draco looked over and gasped. Hadrian was completely wrapped in bandages, his black hair peeking through the gaps in the bandages on his head. Draco could hardly see the other boy's face. "What happened to him?" Draco whispered.

"That, Mr. Malfoy, is what I would like to ask _you." _

Draco, Pansy, Blaise, and Madam Pomfrey all turned around. The Headmaster himself was standing framed in the doorway of the Hospital Wing, his gold spectacles glinting in the sunlight. Draco looked past Dumbledore and his heart fell. Severus and Lucius were both standing directly behind the Headmaster. Severus' expression was even more impassive than usual, which showed how truly furious he was. Lucius looked ready to commit a murder.

The three men swept into the room, their steps resounding on the stone floor. Dumbledore stood at the end of Draco's bed, while Lucius sat in the bed on Draco's other side, removing the divider between them and watching Draco with flint grey eyes, looking as if one wrong move on Draco's part would have him killing his own son. Severus stationed himself next to Hadrian's bed, silencing Pomfrey's protests with a glare.

Draco gulped, his attention focusing back on the Headmaster.

"Draco, please relax. We're not here to cause you any undue stress. We only want to ask you some questions," Dumbledore said gently. "I have asked Professor Snape and your father to come here to listen to your answers, because the current situation has both of them quite involved in the outcome. Please tell us all you can if you feel you are able. We will not pressure you to speak when you are not ready."

The tension in the atmosphere said otherwise, and Draco snorted at the Headmaster's blatant lie. The open hostility radiating off of both Severus and Lucius was enough to make anybody's blood run cold, and Draco shuddered to think of how much trouble they were in.

"What about the Stone?" Draco finally asked, when he couldn't stand the oppressive silence anymore. "What happened? The Stone – Quirrell was the one trying to steal it! Quick, you have to stop him! He's in league with the Dark Lord – He's going to bring the Dark Lord back to full power-" Draco became more and more agitated the more he remembered. He'd been down in the chamber, horrified at the face on the back of Quirrell's head. He'd thought he was truly going to die.

"Calm yourself, child," Dumbledore said. "You are a little behind the times. Quirrell does not have the Stone."

Draco sat, stunned, taking in the new information. "He doesn't?"

"No," Dumbledore answered. "The Stone was found in Mr. Hadrian's pocket, safely protected. It has since then been destroyed."

A groan from the next bed stopped any thought for continued conversation. Severus was standing by Hadrian's bed, looking uncommonly awkward in his black robes against the white of the bed sheets. Hadrian's eyelids fluttered, and Severus completely lost his composure, looking as if he had no idea what to do. Seeing Severus, the cool and composed Severus, being so obviously worried about his godson was heartwarming.

Hearing Hadrian's groan, both Lucius and Draco got up, with varying levels of success. Lucius swept to Hadrian's bedside in a moment, while Draco had to be supported there by Blaise. Pansy came up as well, and they all clustered around Hadrian's bed, looking worriedly down at the Hadrian's face, which was about the only part of him not swathed in white.

"I don't understand," Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself as she quickly checked Hadrian's vitals with a diagnostic spell. "According to Mr. Hadrian's injuries, he should not be waking for another three days at the least! His recovery rate is astonishing! I've never seen anything like it."

Severus, obviously irritated by the woman's tittering, shifted closer to the bed, squeezing Madam Pomfrey away from her place at Hadrian's bedside without making the action seem intentional. Madam Pomfrey, now finding herself out of the group around Hadrian's bedside, decided to make herself useful and go to her office, from which the sounds of potion bottles clinking and her muttering were to be heard.

Hadrian finally blinked open his eyes. "What's the party for?" he mumbled, seeing all the faces gathered around him and shielding his eyes from the sunlight with one hand.

Draco laughed in relief. "Hadrian, you git," he muttered. "Can't you wake up normally like a proper injured person?"

Severus breathed a soft sigh of relief, and without saying anything, grabbed a chair and sat down. Lucius smiled. "We're all glad you're okay, Hadrian," he said. Pansy nodded tearfully, restraining herself from jumping on Hadrian to give him a hug because of all his bandages.

"Yeah. Life's just not as interesting without you, mate," Blaise offered with a grin.

Hadrian snorted. "It sounds like you all thought I was gonna die," he remarked casually. "No way am I going down that easily." The tension in the room abruptly dissipated, and they all smiled. Even Lucius and Severus seemed to have forgotten about their anger.

Blaise supported Draco back to his own bed, and after everyone had settled, Dumbledore continued, "Well, now that both Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Hadrian are awake, I am sure I can ask you both what happened down in the chambers?"

"How long have we been in here?" Hadrian asked the room in general, completely ignoring the Headmaster. Draco stifled a chuckle. Hadrian, it seemed, would never change.

"A week," Dumbledore answered, not seeming the least bit offended at being so blatantly overlooked. "Your friends Mr. Zabini and Ms. Parkinson here were extremely worried. I don't think they've left your sides at all in the time you two were unconscious."

Hadrian gave them both grins. "Thanks," he said. Pansy blushed and Blaise winked.

"We're gonna be the first to hear about what really happened," he proclaimed. "That's good enough for waiting around this place for an entire week."

Hadrian laughed, noticing a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop beside him. Draco turned and saw he had a table similarly decorated, boxes of sweets and candies piled on top of each other.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," Dumbledore said, noticing their looks and beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you two boys and Professor Quirrell is a completely secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

Draco snorted. "If the Weasleys are sending us gifts now, we must've really did something big, huh? You said the whole school knows? Well, then, why do you need to ask us for the story?"

"Draco," Lucius said sharply. "Mind your language."

Dumbledore smiled. "It's alright, Lucius. I don't mind. These boys have both been through a lot, and they deserve to speak their minds. I would like to hear the story from you two," Dumbledore continued, his eyes piercing both of them in turn, "Because as is the case with rumors and tales, things tend to stray away from the truth."

"Well, we went through all the traps that the Professors set up," Draco began, with a nod from Hadrian. "We were trying to stop the thief from stealing the Stone. We knew that somebody was trying to take it, but when we went down the trapdoor, we didn't know exactly whom it was. When we reached the final chamber and found out it was Quirrell, we laughed at him."

Silence. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Very well. That is understandable, considering that the personality he had to fool us was very convincing. Please continue."

"So we laughed," Draco said. "And then he bound us up in ropes, and he told us that his Master was the Dark Lord, and he was trying to get the Stone for him. So, naturally, we knew he was trying to bring the Dark Lord back to full strength. Then," Draco gulped, "And then the Dark Lord spoke. He told Quirrell to use us to get the Stone from the mirror. Hades and I stared attacking Quirrell, but he caught me."

Pansy gasped, shuddering. Blaise was listening intently, on the edge of his seat. Nobody spoke. "He caught me, and – and then," Draco stammered, clenching his hands."

"And then Draco was put under the Imperious Curse," Hadrian continued matter-of-factly, sounding as uninterested as if he was talking about a complete stranger. "Quirrell forced him to cast the Cruciatus Curse on me twice. After Draco was released from the Imperius, Quirrell then cast the Cruciatus on him as well. That was when I told him that I would do what he said, if only he would stop torturing Draco."

Dumbledore sighed sadly. "So young, and yet forced to endure so much," he murmured. Lucius was looking to be in a murderous rage again.

"It was horrible," Draco whispered. "I hurt Hadrian, I remember it so clearly. Hadrian didn't scream, not even once, but I know the pain. It's unbearable, really. It's horrifying."

"What happened next?" Pansy asked softly.

Draco swallowed. "Quirrell told Hadrian to go up to the mirror. Hadrian did so, but apparently he lied about what he saw. The Dark Lord… the Dark Lord somehow knew, and requested to speak to Hadrian, so Quirrell unwrapped his turban, and then, underneath it was…" Draco gulped. "It was a face so twisted and terrifying that it couldn't even be considered human. It was the face of the Dark Lord."

"That's enough," Lucius said, standing up. "Dumbledore, that's enough. You can see how terrible it is for them to recount such things. Surely you have heard enough?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No. If they are able, I would ask for them to continue on to the end."

Draco nodded. "I was scared," he said. "I was terrified, but Hadrian wasn't even shaking. I couldn't move. Those red eyes petrified me, pinning me in place. And that's when Hadrian cast _stupefy _on me, so I wouldn't have to go through that fear anymore."

All eyes turned to Hadrian. He sighed, but continued the story. "I saw my family, in the mirror," he told them. "Draco, Lucius, Narcissa, and Severus, but also a bunch of people I didn't know. I think I saw my parents." Nobody noticed Severus stiffen, as Hadrian carried on. "My reflection in the mirror winked at me, and pulled the Stone out of my pocket. When he put it back in, I felt the Stone actually drop into my _real_ pocket. That's how I got the Stone. That's what I lied about."

"And then, after I knocked Draco out, Voldemort," Lucius and Severus both flinched at the name, "Voldemort, he asked me to join him. That I would be given his right hand position, if I gave him the Stone. He even offered to bring my parents back to life, if only I did as he asked." Severus had become so stiff he looked to be made of wood, sitting in his chair. Everybody held their breaths. "I didn't do it," Hadrian said.

"I tried to run with Draco, but we got trapped. Voldemort ordered Quirrell to attack me, but for some reason, when Quirrell touched me, his fingers got burned. I'd dropped my wand, so I grabbed Quirrell's wand and threw it away somewhere. I jumped on him and grabbed his neck, and it seemed that whenever Quirrell touched my skin, he got hurt. I choked him, and all this time Voldemort was shrieking to kill me, and my head was hurting like hell. I couldn't see anything anymore, but I still didn't let go of Quirrell's neck. After a while, when I was almost unconscious, I think I felt Quirrell… _disintegrating? _And that's when I passed out. I don't know what happened after that."

Everybody was quiet after Hadrian's recounting of the events. "You must've gone through so much," Lucius whispered, looking at them both with sorrowful eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from all this. I have no right to be called your father, if I cannot even protect my sons when they need me most."

"No, if there's anyone at fault, then it is I," Severus said. "These two boys came to me personally on the day that they went down the trapdoor, telling me that they knew someone would steal it that night. I didn't listen to them, and I turned a deaf ear to their claims. I have failed in my duty as both Professor and godfather."

The Hospital Wing doors burst open with a bang, and Hagrid rushed in, his footsteps shaking the very beds Hadrian and Draco were sitting in. Hagrid took one look at Hadrian's bandaged form and burst into tears. "It's – all – my – ruddy – fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh both could've died! All fer dragons egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"

Hadrian sighed while Pansy and Blaise stared at the half-giant, great tears leaking down into his beard. "Nobody is at fault. It was my decision to go down the trapdoor, and I made Draco come along with me. If anything, then it should be my fault. Dumbledore, if you want to punish us for breaking school rules and going down there, that's fine. But just punish me. Draco's got nothing to do with it. You could say he was just an unwilling accomplice."

Draco scowled at that. "No way, Hades. We went down together. We're both in this together, remember? No way are you taking all the blame on yourself. I know I was next to useless down there and you even had to knock me out and fight Quirrell and the Dark Lord by yourself, but I'm not letting you be punished all by yourself! You saved this school!"

Dumbledore held up his hands. "Please, calm yourselves," he said gravely, to all that had gathered. "Hadrian is right, nobody is at fault. I will not be punishing anybody for this. Hadrian and Draco, you both have done a great service to this school. The effort involved to defeat Professor Quirrell and Voldemort nearly killed you, but you were able to survive. I thank you."

"But what happened?" Hadrian asked. "To the Stone, I mean?"

"Dumbledore said that it was destroyed," Draco answered.

"Destroyed?" said Hadrian blankly. "But what about Flamel – Nicolas Flamel-"

"Oh, you two know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You _did_ do things properly, didn't you? As expected of the two best students in the school. Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means that he and his wife will die, won't they?" Hadrian asked, frowning.

"They have enough Elixir of Life stored to set their affairs in order, and then, yes, they will die."

Dumbledore smiled at the looks of amazement on the children's faces.

"To one as young as you children, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, his wife, it really is like going to bed after a very, _very _long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things must human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Lucius stood up and walked to Draco's bedside. "Take care, Draco, Hadrian," he said formally. "Recover quickly, and stay safe. Your mother and I will be waiting for you to return." And with that, he strode out of the Hospital Wing without looking back.

"As eloquent as ever, Father is," Hadrian joked. "I just felt so much from that statement there."

"You know he means well, even though he doesn't say it," Draco said with a roll of his eyes, grinning.

Dumbledore chuckled. "It seems you two know Lucius well," he said happily. "I would like you two to continue being his strength, especially in these times with the threat of Voldemort's uprising. Now, more than ever, Lucius will need his loved ones close."

Hadrian turned to the Headmaster, frowning. "Sir, there are some things I'd like to know, if you can tell me. And instead of lies or evasive answers, I would like the truth."

Dumbledore sighed. "The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

Hadrian nodded. "First off, why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time. "Alas, the first thing you ask me, I do not know the answer to. If it were under different circumstances, I would say that you, Hadrian, had a very strong, very powerful protective mark placed upon you. But I am not certain. You say that your head was hurting when you touched Quirrell?"

"Yes," Hadrian replied. "Right here," pointing to his forehead.

Dumbledore frowned. "I do not know the answer to your question, but I must ask you one thing, to both of you," he said, speaking to Draco as well. "What do you think about the power of love?"

"Love?" Draco and Hadrian asked together, unable to keep the skepticism out of their voices. They looked at each other. Turning back to the Headmaster, they both raised their eyebrows, identical reflections of each other. "Love's for girls," they decided, laughing.

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, I did not really expect two eleven year old boys to answer seriously, anyhow."

"Another question," Hadrian said. "How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that." Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled merrily. "It was one of my more brilliant ideas, you know, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to _find_ the Stone – find it, but not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes…"

Draco snorted. "It's wonderful you're so introspective, Headmaster. But I have a question," he said.

"Fire away."

"This isn't the end, is it? The Dark Lord's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"

"No, Draco, he has not." Dumbledore looked out the window as he spoke, seeming to be very interested in a bird on the windowsill. "He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share… not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Draco and Hadrian, while you two may have only delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time – and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

After Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Severus left, Draco and Hadrian were left alone with Pansy and Blaise. Pansy was crying, the relief of it all finally seeming to catch up with her. "I'm so glad you two are alright," she sobbed.

"So this was what you two were being so sneaky about," Blaise noticed. "This is your 'top secret mission' that you wouldn't even tell us about."

"Ah, you found us out," Hadrian said with a smile. "Sorry we kept it from you all this time."

"Naw," Blaise brushed it aside with a wave of his hand. "I'm glad I didn't get involved in something so dangerous. You two are just on a completely different level from us regular first-years. Only you two would've been able to pull something like this off."

"You two must've been worried about us," Pansy said. "You didn't want to get us involved in something like this, so you purposefully left us out, right? That's why Draco hexed me when I was trying to prevent you from leaving that night."

Draco rolled his eyes. "If you wanna think about it that way, you're welcome to continue doing so," he said.

Blaise snickered. "But really, you two should hear some of the rumors going around the school at the moment about what happened. I mean, the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors, but some of those rumors are incredible. There's even one where the two of you were secretly recruited by a professional Quidditch team and escaped from the castle in the night, and by this time now you two were supposed to be touring Europe, playing Quidditch games against international teams."

Draco smiled. "That would be nice," he remarked, yawning.

Hadrian lay back down on his bed. "So what's up with the rest of the school? Do they still hate us?"

Pansy shook her head. "Oh no, no. You two missed the last Quidditch match, and Slytherin was steamrollered by Hufflepuff without you two. Flint was even ranting to Higgs and Bletchley – the two they had to use to replace you – how incompetent they are. It was a complete disgrace, and everybody realized how important you two really were. That's probably where that Quidditch rumor started."

Hadrian laughed. "Guess Slytherin won't be getting any of the Cups this year," he said sadly. "And it seems that both cases are our fault."

"Well, in any case, you two have to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Gryffindor won, of course, but the food'll be good, at least," Blaise encouraged. "I doubt anyone will still hold a grudge against you two, not with all the rumors about your disappearance floating about. Heck, you'll probably be mobbed by people demanding to hear the real story."

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over. "Hadrian and Draco need their rest now," she said firmly. "You can see them again tomorrow."

Blaise and Pansy pouted, but they left after much insisting on Madam Pomfrey's part. When they'd finally gone, Madam Pomfrey turned to the two boys lying on the hospital beds. "Now, dears. I'll let you two get some much-needed sleep. Don't worry, I won't put the divider in between you two anymore," she said, once she noticed Draco's panicked look. "I'll even set up a silencing charm around you two so you won't be disturbed in case something comes up."

Setting up the charm and closing the curtains, Madam Pomfrey left them alone. She'd even closed the curtains so they wouldn't be bothered by the afternoon sunlight while they were trying to sleep.

Draco lay awake for a long time. "Hades?" he finally whispered into the silence.

"Hmm?" came Hadrian's sleepy reply.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Hadrian asked, sounding much more awake than he'd been before. "What's the matter?"

Draco sighed. "I'm only a burden to you," he muttered. "With the troll, and down in the chamber with Quirrell – all I do is drag you down. I'm powerless compared to you. You're always so strong, you're not afraid of anything. And you even had to knock me out so I wouldn't be in the way while you fought Quirrell in the end." Draco clenched his hands. "I'm so useless."

"That's not true!" Hadrian snapped. "That's never going to be true. You aren't useless, Draco. Stop being so stupid."

Chuckling sarcastically, Draco turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. "Yeah, I guess I really am stupid, aren't I?" he whispered. "So much for being a Prince of Slytherin. I couldn't even fight alongside you at the critical moment. I couldn't do anything to help you, and instead I got myself Imperiused and put you under the Cruciatus. I'm so weak."

Silence. "So am I," Hadrian finally whispered.

"No you're not," Draco scoffed. "You didn't scream under the Cruciatus. You weren't scared of the Dark Lord's face at all. You were the one that defeated Quirrell in the end-"

"I am, Draco," Hadrian interrupted sharply. "I am weak. When I heard you screaming, I was scared, Draco. I was really scared. I couldn't do anything, so I gave in to Quirrell. I gave in to him, and I looked into the mirror like he told me to. I didn't even last five seconds before agreeing to what he asked."

"That's not weakness-" Draco began, but Hadrian talked over him.

"When Voldemort offered to bring my parents back to life in exchange for the Stone, Draco, I was so close to giving in. I was so close, just a second more and I would've given it to him. And then everything would've been over."

"But you didn't, Hadrian," Draco said. "You didn't give in to him."

Hadrian shook his head, burying his face in the pillows. "No, you don't understand, Draco. I _wanted _to give it to him. I _wanted _to let him win, just so I could get my parents back. I didn't care about the school, or Blaise, or Pansy, or any of our friends. I didn't even think about what would happen to Severus if Voldemort won. I wanted to believe Voldemort, so badly. I wanted to join him."

Draco lay, stunned, at Hadrian's confession. He had only caught a glimpse of the Dark Lord's face, so he couldn't' imagine what Hadrian was going through, having to fight that monstrosity. But Draco knew, that if that evil thing had forced him to join as a part of his followers, Draco would've been to afraid to refuse. Draco would've given in without a fight, because he would be too scared to go against the Dark Lord. But never could Draco imagine _wanting _to join that man, of _wanting _to go over to his side.

"So why didn't you?" Draco asked.

Hadrian curled up into a ball in his blankets, huffing. "I don't know," he admitted. "I wanted to join, I wanted my parents back. But at that time, when Voldemort said he'd bring back my parents – at that time, I was carrying you on my back, Draco. And I knew I could never let you go. I was just barely able to resist the temptation of giving in. Because of you. At that moment, you were my reason."

"So I guess we're both pretty weak after all, huh?" Hadrian finished. "After all that talk about being the Princes, I guess neither of us are really that great."

Draco closed his eyes, sighing. "I guess so," he agreed. "You are my strength, and I am yours. That's not such a bad deal, though, is it?"

Hadrian snorted. "Nope. If Voldemort ever dares come here again, we'll take him down together, just like this time. We'll be the saviors of Hogwarts! Voldemort will have no choice but to learn to fear our names!"

"I think your imagination's getting carried away again, Hades," Draco remarked, but he smiled. "Go to sleep before you start imagining any more crazy stuff. Your imagination's gotten us into enough trouble as it is."

Hadrian huffed. "Fine. G'night, Drake."

"Goodnight, Hadrian." Finally, Draco's eyelids grew heavy, indicating the approach of sleep. It was as if Hadrian had taken away all of the burdens riding on his shoulders, letting him relax. _No, _he corrected. _Hadrian and I are sharing our burdens. That's why it feels so much lighter. This road we walk, no matter where it goes, we'll walk on it together._

* * *

**Author's Note:** So, here's the second last chapter. There's gonna be one more short one after this, just to wrap things up. Wow. This is the longest story I have ever written. Well, after this I guess I'll have to start writing my other story now, since I've been sort of ignoring it while working on this one. But that's my problem. Hope you like this chapter! Sorta concludes all the dramatic fighting and stuff in the previous one. As always, please review :P


	21. The End

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings mentioned in this story. This is a non-profit fanfiction, and all named characters and settings are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

After a good night's sleep, Draco felt nearly back to normal. Hadrian was worse off, though. He'd had many more injuries, after all.

"Four broken ribs, a fractured ankle, a little bit of a concussion, numerous scratches and bruises, moderate blood loss, and being put under two Cruciatus Curses on top of all that," Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself as she checked Hadrian's injuries. "Just what on earth were you thinking when you went up against You-Know-Who alone?"

Hadrian scratched his head sheepishly. "I wasn't really thinking at all," he admitted with a grin.

"That's right you weren't," Madam Pomfrey said, unwrapping the most of the bandages from Hadrian's body. "If I weren't here, who knows how long it could've taken you to finally be fixed up."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey. All my bones and everything are fine now," Hadrian said gratefully, opening and closing his hands and moving his arms. "All my scratches are healed as well. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Madam Pomfrey huffed. "Your bones may be fixed, but that minor concussion of yours is a serious problem. You said that your forehead hurt when you touched Professor Quirrell? Well, that's simply abnormal, since I can't see any evidence of markings or scars on your head. I must simply assume that it's a side effect from coming into contact with such strong evil magic. You'll have to keep that bandage around your head for some time to come."

Hadrian rolled his eyes. "That's fine, Madam Pomfrey," he said, "But can Drake and I please go down to the feast now? We promised our friends, and we're already late enough as it is. Everybody'll be down already."

Madam Pomfrey sighed in defeat. "Very well," she allowed with a faint smile. "Just don't do anything that'll hurt your head!"

* * *

Entering the Great Hall, Hadrian and Draco saw that it was decked out in the Gryffindor colors of red and gold to celebrate Gryffindor's wining the House Cup. A huge banner showing the Gryffindor lion covered the wall behind the High Table. When Hadrian and Draco walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once.

"Decoration's a little off, don't you think?" Hadrian asked Draco, feeling uncomfortable being surrounded with so much red and gold. It was oppressive.

"Nothing we can do about it now, Hades," Draco said with a sigh. Walking into the great hall, they were suddenly pinned with hundreds of pairs of eyes, all staring and scrutinizing them.

"It seems we've either reached a new low in the eyes of the other students, or we've regained our popularity," Draco commented, seeing all the stares being fixed on the two of them as they made their way to the Slytherin table.

"I'd prefer to think of it as we've done something to cause undue notice again," Hadrian snickered. As they slipped into two open seats opposite Pansy and Blaise, a few people even stood up and looked at them. "Rather frightening, how fast public opinion changes, huh? Just last week they were doing their best to insult and ignore us."

"Oh the fickleness of the public's favor," Blaise lamented dramatically, hearing Hadrian's complaint. "And oh, the hardships of the ones being admired!" Hadrian and Draco dissolved into giggles.

"You're just jealous," Draco said.

"Hadrian, is your head okay?" Pansy asked worriedly, eyeing the bandage still wound around his head, his dark hair sticking out above it.

He shrugged. "It's as fine as it'll ever be. Don't see why everybody's making such a fuss about it. It probably only hurt 'cause I suddenly got a headache or something."

Dumbledore arrived moments later, the babble dying away with the appearance of the Headmaster.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, taking his place at the podium in front of the Head Table. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…"

"There you go, Blaise. Now you have an excuse if you forget any of the spells we covered this year," Hadrian whispered. He dodged the grape Blaise sent flying his way.

Dumbledore was still talking. "Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus; in fourth place, Slytherin, with three hundred and forty three points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and eighty seven; Ravenclaw has four hundred and six and Gryffindor, four hundred and seventy two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Gryffindor table. Among them the loudest were the Weasley twins, even setting off some miniature fireworks from the ends of their wands. Ron Weasley was also cheering, and Hermione, who neither Hadrian nor Draco had spoken much to since their fall from grace at the beginning of the second semester, was looking pleased. No doubt she'd helped earn many of those points herself.

"Yes, yes, well done, Gryffindor," Dumbledore said. "Your achievements have been noteworthy indeed. However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. As one, all eyes slowly turned to Draco and Hadrian.

"Ahem," Dumbledore cleared his throat. "This has taken great deliberation on the part of all the Professors. Some thought that points should not have been given, seeing that the nature of the accomplishment was against the rules in the first place, but we teachers as a whole decided that it would be unfair not to give credit where it's due. This is not, I must say, an excuse to start breaking school rules whenever you feel like it. It is simply congratulations to those students who have demonstrated outstanding qualities against impossible odds. I wish all of you to keep that in mind."

Everyone in the hall was quiet, listening with rapt attention. "That said, I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes…"

The entire room took a collective breath and held it. Hadrian and Draco were no exception.

"First – To Ms. Pansy Parkinson…"

The room seemed to deflate. When it appeared that the points weren't going to Draco and Hadrian after all, most of the students lost interest. Pansy, on the other hand, went rigid in her seat, her smile fixed in place. "What?" she asked nervously. "Why me? What did I do?"

As if answering her question, Dumbledore said, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but even more so to stand up to our friends. For the demonstration of great care and responsibility, I award her ten points."

There were some claps, a cheer here and there from the Slytherin table, but other than that there wasn't much of a reaction. Ten points didn't matter at all; they'd hardly changed the scores. Slytherin was still in last place, only with ten more points than before.

"Second – To Mr. Draco Malfoy…"

The room went still, the tension almost visibly rising. This was what everybody had been waiting for. Draco clenched his hands. Hadrian turned and gave him a wink, and Draco answered with a small smile.

"… for the courage and determination to follow his best friend and brother no matter how dangerous the situation, for the loyalty he has shown to his loved ones, and for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Slytherin house sixty points."

Draco gasped. Sixty points. It had bumped Slytherin up to second place, with four hundred and thirteen points. "Yeah!" Hadrian cheered, slapping Draco on the back. "Drake, you got us sixty points in one go! Nice one! We're up by seventy points!"

Slytherin cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Blaise was laughing at the expression on Draco's face, and Pansy was screaming with excitement, dabbing her tears with a lace handkerchief.

"'_For the loyalty he's shown to his loved ones'_?" Draco repeated tonelessly. "What does that mean? It makes me sound like a bloody simpleton."

Hadrian shrugged. "That's Dumbledore for ya. He's completely off his rocker, with all his mumblings about love. No wonder Father doesn't think much of the man."

At last, there was silence again.

"Third – to Mr. Hadrian No-Last-Name…" The room went deadly quiet. "For pure nerve and outstanding courage, and the resolve to protect his family even in the face of great temptation. For choosing the light instead of the darkness, I award Slytherin house…"

A collective intake of breath from everybody in the room, including the Professors. Severus, though still remaining impassive, fixed his stare directly on Dumbledore, waiting for the results.

"Sixty points."

A moment of silence while all the students tried to take in the news, while others mentally calculated how many points Slytherin now had.

"Sixty plus sixty plus ten is a hundred and thirty," Hadrian muttered. "So that's three hundred and forty three plus a hundred and thirty, which equals…"

He looked up suddenly, meeting Draco's eyes. "Four hundred and seventy three!" they shouted together. "We've beaten Gryffindor by one point! We've beaten Gryffindor! We get the House Cup!"

Hearing them, the rest of the students buzzed, passing the new Slytherin score around to anybody who hadn't heard. And then the cheers began.

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Slytherin table. Though the Slytherins were usually composed and elegant in their actions, none of the Slytherins could resist standing up and screaming for all they were worth. Slytherin had won the House Cup, maintaining their record of winning it for the seventh year in the row now. They'd managed to keep their undefeated record, at the last second at that. Flint could be heard yelling down the table about the two brats on his Quidditch team that'd saved the day, proudly banging his goblet on the table and adding to the noise.

Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were quiet, giving some polite clapping to the Slytherin's exuberance. They were disappointed that Slytherin's record hadn't been broken, but it didn't concern them overly much. The Gryffindors, however, were completely silent. Weasley especially couldn't have looked more stunned, as if he'd just had the body-bind curse placed on him. The prize had just been stolen from the lion's jaws. Literally.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of Slytherin cheers and Gryffindor groans, "We need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the red hangings became emerald and the gold became silver; the huge Gryffindor lion vanished and the proud snake of Slytherin took its place. McGonagall was shaking Severus' hand with a tight smile on her lips. Hadrian caught Severus' eye, and Severus gave him a slight nod, which was the most indication of approval the man ever made. Hadrian beamed, turning back to his friends and celebrating the end of the year. It was one of the best nights of Hadrian's life, and he would never, ever forget it.

* * *

With all the uproar over their endeavor down the trapdoor and their confrontation with Quirrell and Voldemort, Hadrian and Draco hardly had time to consider the exam results that were still to come. But come they did.

To nobody's surprise, both Hadrian and Draco got the exact same marks, at the top of their year. Hermione obviously came second. Even Crabbe and Goyle managed to scrape through somehow, although Hadrian strongly suspected it was due to Pansy's merciless tutoring. The two boys had had to endure hours of study under Pansy's watchful eye, and were smacked on their heads if their attention ever wavered. Pansy had even forbid them from eating until they were able to memorize the entire list of dates and names of the Goblin Revolution for History of Magic.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, a mountain of forgotten stale cupcakes was found under Goyle's bed and eaten by Crabbe and him so as not to let it go to waste; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays; Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier as they sped past Muggle towns.

Pulling into Platform Nine and Three Quarters at King's Cross Station in London, Hadrian and Draco got off the train, their trunks and owl cages floating along obediently behind them; their last chance to use magic until they returned to Hogwarts that fall. Severus had told them that this year, now that they've started school, they would be staying with the Malfoys for the summer while Severus himself stayed at Hogwarts, unwilling to go through the trouble of going from Hogwarts back to his home and then back to Hogwarts again now that Hadrian already saw him every day at school.

Meeting Narcissa and Lucius on the Platform, Narcissa enveloped them both in a warm hug. "I'm so glad you two are safe," she said simply. "You made me worry."

Hadrian and Draco hugged her back, smiling happily. "We're back, Mother," they said, kissing her on either cheek.

Lucius looked down at them proudly. "First in your year, I hear," he proclaimed. "Well done."

Hadrian beamed.

People jostled all around them as they moved towards the gateway out of Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Most of the students had met their families and would be leaving for their homes through Muggle London, but Lucius and Narcissa would be taking Hadrian and Draco directly home by Apparition. It was beneath their dignity to be forced to walk on the same streets as Muggles, after all.

"Bye, you brats," Flint called, pushing his way through the crowd to reach the gate. "You better keep your flying in top shape over the summer, or else I'm gonna replace you both!"

"See you, Hades, Draco!" Terence and Miles Bletchley waved. "And don't listen to Flint. He actually likes you two a lot, only he's too shy to admit it."

Many others called out to them, waving and smiling, wishing them a happy summer. "Quite famous, aren't you?" Lucius remarked with raised eyebrows, seeing all the people that called out to Draco and Hadrian.

"Could you expect any less?" Draco asked smugly.

Pansy and Blaise rushed up. "Goodbye, Hadrian, Draco!" Pansy exclaimed, giving them both a big hug. "I can't believe first year's already over! We're going to be second years soon!"

"Pansy's been in hysterics," Blaise said with a roll of his eyes. "Must be heartbroken at the thought of leaving you for the whole summer, Hadrian."

Pansy blushed furiously and whacked Blaise on the head, screaming at him that he was wrong. Hadrian laughed. "Don't worry, Pansy. Draco and I are gonna miss you both as well."

"You two are welcome to visit us any time," Narcissa said to Blaise and Pansy. "We'll always welcome you. I'm sure Hadrian and Draco would be glad to have you two over as well."

Blaise bowed and Pansy curtseyed. "Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," they said respectfully.

"Nonsense," Narcissa said, "Be sure to invite your parents as well. I would so love to have a tea party during the summer."

Waving goodbye to their two friends, who disappeared in the mob to find their own parents, Hadrian and Draco took Lucius and Narcissa by the hands. Turning back one last time to look at the scarlet train engine that had brought them back, they smiled at each other.

"Ready?" Lucius asked them.

Draco grinned. "One."

"Three!" Hadrian yelled. Narcissa laughed, and without another backwards glance, they were gone.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Last chapter! Yay! Finally, this story's finished. Special thanks to BloodyRose90; you've been so positive and supportive! Plus you reviewed almost all the chapters :P Thank you! Thanks to everyone who reviewed as well. I got way more than I expected. There've been a lot of people asking about a sequel, and I'm actually thinking of writing one. I just haven't done so yet... Author Alert me or something if you want to know when the sequel comes out :) It'll most likely be called 'The Slytherin Heir' or something like that. Okay, I just can't resist putting 'The End' down below. I know it's cheesy, but still. It's the end!

**~The End~**


End file.
